The Rise of Zaren
by Shizuka na Sana
Summary: When Harry is ignored by the adults he thought would protect him, who will he turn to? Dumbledore? Voldemort? Or someone else... Slytherin!Dark!Harry Pairings to be decided. Up for adoption!
1. Prologue

Alright, this was originally going to be a spin-off, but I came up with a unique beginning, so here you go! This story is AU starting 6th year, but focuses on 7th. Please ignore the pathetic story recap of stuff I didn't feel like typing. Btw, this is a prologue. The first chapter will be longer.

Evil Overlord List- 48- _I will treat any beast which I control through magic or technology with respect and kindness. Thus if the control is ever broken, it will not immediately come after me for revenge. _

Disclaimer- The Evil Overlord List, created by Peter Anspach, was the inspiration for this story. The characters are from J. K. Rowling's mind. The plot probably has a sibling or ten on fanfiction. See? I own nothing.

_**DownwithDumbledorkDownwithDumbledork**_

It was Christmas, 1996. Nothing had been going right for Harry Potter since he returned to school that year. He was currently sitting alone in the Common Room.

Harry sighed. _I need to figure out who I can blame for this. _He thought with a scowl. _Hope it's Dumbledork. _As it was three in the morning, no one could possibly be awake to report on him. So, determined for the first time that year, Harry Potter sat down with a notebook and a pen to record all that had gone wrong since he entered Hogwarts.

His notebook soon held his 6th year entries, just as it held entries from the years before. 1) Remus locked up due to the Werewolf Act –Fudge and Umbridge's fault. 2) Harry avoided like the plague – Rita Skeeter's fault. 3) His lack of information – Dumbledore's fault. 4) His lack of friends – The _Prophet_'s fault. 5) His throbbing headache – Snape's fault. 6) His inability to sleep –Voldemort's fault. 7) His failing grades – the teacher's faults. 8) Hedwig's death – Dumbledore's fault. 9) His depression – Dumbledore's fault.

Harry tried his hardest to act normal the next day, but he ended up passing out. Not sleeping since last July can do that to a person. Yet, no one came to make sure he was alright. At least, no one he knew of.

All Harry wanted the following month was to be left alone. _I'm going crazy. _He thought day after day. _This can't be real. I'm going crazy. _At lunch in mid-February, he could have sworn that_Draco Malfoy_gave him a pitying look. _I am DEFINITELY going crazy._

The rest of the year went by in a blur for Harry. He didn't register being beaten by his uncle or starved by his aunt. He didn't register being rescued by Snape. He was in a comatose state. So he sat, dead to the world, on his birthday. His room at Grimmauld Place was empty. No one had bothered to get him presents that year. A knock on the door startled him. "Harry?" Bill's voice echoed. "The adults don't approve of this, but you got presents from us anyways." He got no response. Bill sighed and set the presents down. He cast one look at the broken boy sitting on the bed before leaving.

The clocked changed to midnight. "Happy Birthday to me." He said coldly. He, on habit, went over to open the window. He was very surprised when an owl swooped in. The creature looked regale and proud, not like any owl he had seen except Hedwig. He had no clue who this owl might belong to, but it had gotten through the wards, so it deserved some recognition. "Now, who's this from?" Harry asked himself before tearing it open.

_Harry Potter,_

_Let me start by saying 'Happy Birthday' to you. I hope that you don't feel to let down by Dumbledork and his band of idiots. That is actually why I happen to be writing. He's using you. After you, an untrained teenager, fight Voldemort, someone with less morals and way more experience, one of you WILL die. Dumbledore intends to off the winner and take credit for himself. Listen to what I'm telling you. Your friends, the ones you can truly rely on, are unknowingly helping him. They need to be rescued too. If you accept my help, they will all receive similar letters tomorrow night. If you accept, get everything of yours together –shrunken, of course– and tap this with your wand. The key is 'freedom'. I hope to see you soon._

_Happy Birthday,_

Harry gasped when he realized who had sent him the letter. _Well, I've got nothing to lose. _So Harry quickly stuffed all his presents into his trunk, gave the room another once-over to make sure that he had everything, then shrunk the trunk. He walked over to the portkey, rested one hand on it, and whispered swiftly "Freedom."

"Harry, no! It isn't safe for you to go anywhere!" Albus called, but it was too late. Harry Potter was gone, never to return.

_**DownwithDumbledorkDownwithDumbledork**_

Alright, enjoy the prologue! I'll get the next chapter out ASAP, and it will be better. It will also tell you who exactly wrote the letter. Kudos if you figure it out, but if you think you know who it is, don't spoil it for everyone else, please. Don't put it in a review. Oh, and I'm sorry it was so short. It'll be longer next time. I swear.


	2. Chapter 1

Welcome to the real chapter 1! Hope you all enjoyed the prologue, and I hope you'll keep reading. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer- I own nothing but my own original story, which will (someday) be available for sale. Technically I don't own that either, as I don't own this computer or the paper it's written on. So, I own nothing. (sobs pathetically)

E.O.L.- 72- _If all the heroes are standing together around a strange device and begin to taunt me, I will pull out a conventional weapon instead of using my unstoppable superweapon on them. _

_**DownwithDumbledorkDownwithDumbledork**_

"Welcome to my home, Harry." Came a soft voice from the shadows.

"Why do you think you can help me, Malfoy?" Harry asked coldly. Chuckling quietly, Draco Malfoy stepped out of the shadows. He looked terrible, as if he hadn't slept in days. The bags under his eyes made him look depressed, which caused Harry to believe that something had gone terribly wrong.

"We both need help, Harry." Draco said softly. "I can give you the truth, the truth that I've been searching for, the one you need. I need help getting my mother to go elsewhere so that I can get away with not taking that damnable mark." He looked at Harry sadly. "Even though you do not like attention, one of the evil superpowers, Dumbledore or Voldemort, will win the war. You will either end up dead or the leader of the rebellion. Either way, people will rally to your cause. Isn't it better to start now, instead of when it's too late?"

"What do you mean?" Harry looked confused, but it hit him suddenly. _**He wants you to lead the war against Voldemort and start one against Dumbledore, idiot. **__Who are you? __**Your Slytherin side. **__Couldn't you have helped me before? __**No. I was locked up due to your occlumency lessons. Before that you took my advice without realizing it. **__Oh. Alright. Well, thanks._ "Never mind. Why do you think I could be a leader? All I do is get people killed."

"Did your friends die when you went to the Department of Mysteries?" Draco asked, sounding bored with Harry's self-depreciation.

"My godfather did." Harry said glumly, looking away.

"No." Harry's eyes snapped back to meet Draco's. "That's one thing I discovered. Dumbledore's been using Golems. He replaced your parents when you were six months old, replaced your godfather right after you saved him from getting the kiss, and replaced Professor Lupin just before he was arrested. They're all locked up in special cells in Azkaban, away from the dementors." Draco's eyes bored into Harry's. "You can rescue them. You, and only you. You and I are the only two who know about this."

"Has he done this to anyone else?" Harry asked coldly. He had known Dumbledore was crazy, but this was insane. _**Of course it's insane. This is Dumbledork we're talking about! The one who sent an untrained child to fight a sixty foot basilisk! **__I guess you're right._

"Dumbledore's only done this to one other person, more than fifty years ago. To someone by the name of Tom Riddle. He was put into stasis at the age of 16." _Is that really important?_

"I thought so. That means the Voldemort we know is a puppet." Draco's eyes widened. "And that Dumbledore could have taken him out any time he wanted to! Damn him! Damn him to hell and back!" Harry Potter was pissed off. _So Dumbledore's the reason I can't do anything. He's the reason it's 'not safe'. __**Well, what are you going to do about it? **__I'm going to kill him, slowly and painfully. __**You should laugh evilly now. **__No. __**Why not? **__It's against the List, remember? __I win._

"We should decide who else to let in, and who is trusted enough to be a lieutenant." Harry continued. "And what section they will command." Harry was in his own little world right now.

"I don't think we should involve anyone else until we have a clear understanding of what we're getting into." Draco said calmly. "And we should wait to rescue everyone until we have some backup." _Please agree. _"We can start recruiting when school starts."

Harry nodded. "Alright. What exactly do we need to do to bring down Dumbledore?"

For the next three weeks, Harry and Draco planned how to bring down Moldyshorts and Dumbledork. However, they had a problem.

"Harry." Draco said shakily.

"What?" Harry was trying to brew the Draught of Living Death. He wasn't that successful, and the potion colud be volatile. "This isn't the best time for me to talk."

"I just realized that we only have one week left to do our homework." Draco looked really scared. "And Snape's gonna be pissed of because he's spying for both sides. Just think of what will happen if we don't finish our homework."

"Oh shit." Harry said slowly, eyes widening as he imagined horrible and most likely illegal punishments that the Potions Master might try. "We have to work. Now! And start with Potions!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!"

For the final week of summer vacation, the two boys started to cram on their homework. They didn't sleep for an entire week, and finally, after not eating for the last three days, they finished. Just in time to get packed and get to the station. "Damn that was close!" The two said together after they finished.

"Now we have to get to the station to avoid the main crowd." Harry breathed out. Draco just groaned. "At least we can sleep on the train."

_**DownwithDumbledorkDownwithDumbledork**_

Well, that was chapter 1. Again, sorry it's short. Any longer, and it would probably be double the size and it would take too long to get out. Please forgive a bad writer for lack of detail, too. Anyway, Eventually you'll see all the members together. I do have them all planned out, as well as their jobs. That's the easy part. The hard part is figuring out how to have them join... Sorry, rambling.

Please review! I don't feel up to writing without a reviewer to spur me on!


	3. Chapter 2

Alright, chapter 2. Thanks for reading, peeps. Now I have some news. I have no idea what to do for pairings. Any suggestions are welcome, and I have nothing against slash. Only two conditions exist: No Harry/Ginny, and no femslash. I don't know how to write that. Please tell me your thoughts. All comments are appriciated.

Disclaimer: These are cool. I don't own them. Any more you need to hear?

E.O.L. – **159** - **If I burst into rebel headquarters and find it deserted except for an odd, blinking device, I will not walk up and investigate; I'll run like hell. **

_Last time- "Now we have to get to the station to avoid the main crowd." Harry breathed out. Draco just groaned. "At least we can sleep on the train."_

_**UpwithChaosDownwithOrder**_

Draco and Harry arrived at the Hogwarts express an hour early. "Okay." Draco said calmly. "We'll get a small cabin, put our stuff away, lock the door, and sleep."

"What if people are looking for us?" Harry asked. "We need to let some people into the cabin to save ourselves from prying people."

"We could pull in a few people that we trust to not be annoying. Maybe a few people that are quiet anyways so that we can sleep." Draco nodded to himself as if he was persuading both of them. "Like Weaslette and Blaise. Both of them can be quiet, and they probably won't go overboard with the questioning."

"Fine. But you have to call Ginny by her name. And don't most cabins seat six people?" Harry questioned, eyeing Draco. The boy in question looked mildly shocked before muttering out something about forgetting. "Whatever. It doesn't matter. Let's go now. We can think on the way."

The two boys slowly made their way to the back of the train. After waiting for half an hour, they saw people finally begin to arrive. Many people were fretful after the disappearance of their savior, but still wanted to wish their children off to school. The crowd slowly thickened to the point where no individual could be identified. However, parents soon started to leave, abandoning their children to the teachers' hands. The children started to file into the train, making their way as far back as possible. As Ginny and Blaise approached, they felt drawn to the one compartment that everyone was crowded around. Inside they saw something everyone had thought impossible: Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter in the same room. Not trying to kill each other. For once. Draco scanned the crowd calmly, then grinned when he spotted Blaise and Ginny.

_Why don't I like this? _The two girls thought together. Harry followed Draco's gaze and smirked. Standing up, he calmly walked towards the girls and pulled them into the cabin, their stuff still in their hands. "What are you doing?" Blaise demanded coldly.

"Sparring ourselves the torture of questions." Draco responded. "Plus I need to sleep. I spent all last week working on my homework and was working all night, every night."

"You shirked your assignments?!" Blaise asked, enraged. "Didn't I break you of that habit years ago?! What were you thinking?! Ginny just look thoughtful.

"You broke him of a homework shirking habit?" She asked innocently. Blaise nodded. "How do you know that he wasn't lying to you like Harry lied to me about that? And how do you know that he wasn't just very busy, and _couldn't _do his homework?"

"Why is she defending me?" Draco whispered to Harry.

"Don't ask me, I haven't got a clue. Maybe she just feels like being argumentative."

"And you!" Ginny said, turning on Harry. Her glare that had scared off the spectators was now facing Harry. "Where were you?! Everyone was worried sick! I should beat you to a bloody pulp for making me spend my vacation worrying about you!"

"Wouldn't that defeat the point of worrying about him?" Draco asked, mildly scared. Ginny sniffed and then burst out crying. She launched herself onto Harry and sobbed into his shirt.

"Nice going, moron." Harry said dryly. "It's easier to deal with girls when they're mad, not when they're crying."

As the train took off, Ginny finally calmed down. With the noise gone, Draco and Harry instantly fell asleep, leaving the two girls alone. What are two bored girls going to do? Gossip about the nearest topics. Which just so happened to be Draco and Harry. "So I heard that Potter bested a basilisk to save you. Is that true?"

"Yes. It was sooo cool!" So the girls traded stories for most of the seven hour train ride, waking the boys once only five minutes remained. The girls laughed as they watched the boys, who were normally composed, scramble to get ready in time.

Hogwarts would prove to be a conquest for the new group, as they had almost secured their third and forth members. Dumbledore, however, was going to be a problem.

_**UpwithChaosDownwithOrder**_

Dumbledore sat at the head table, waiting for the students to arrive. _This will be the year that Potter dies. _He vowed silently, plotting how to kill the boy this year. He remained calm on the outside, though.

None of the teachers suspected anything, except for one. One teacher who had discovered Dumbledore's plot at the beginning his career, one who knew about Dumbledore's secret prisoners. That teacher had sworn that he wouldn't let things get out of control, but had failed miserably. _I won't fail this time. _He promised mentally. _I will not fail you, old friends. You will be rescued yet._

_**UpwithChaosDownwithOrder**_

This is not going to be Harry/Ginny. That pairing is WAY overused. Besides, I like Draco/Ginny better :) Please tell me what you think, flames and all. As long as I know people are reading I'll keep writing. I also have big plans for this story, including a sequel, but this one might just top 50 chapters (yes, they will get longer.) I hope to see you all keep reading!

I know my other story has longer chapters. Please don't bother me about chapter length. I had five chapters ready before I even posted the first on that one, so I get more time to work. I apologize. I'm sure you can handle it. If not, then just tell me to please type longer chapters. I will fulfil any request I can as long as I am able to, as long as it's respectful.


	4. Chapter 3

Time for chapter 3! Now, the pairing requests I have so far are:

Harry/Blaise

Draco/Ginny

Please vote on your favorite and send me more ideas! Warning: this chapter has little to do with the current plotline.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all its grand greatness does not belong to me. I just happen to be a fan that enjoys manipulating people to her own whims. Just like all the other authors on fanfiction.

E.O.L. – **24** - **I will maintain a realistic assessment of my strengths and weaknesses. Even though this takes some of the fun out of the job, at least I will never utter the line "No, this cannot be! I AM INVINCIBLE!!!" (After that, death is usually instantaneous.) **

_Last time- None of the teachers suspected anything, except for one. One teacher who had discovered Dumbledore's plot at the beginning his career, one who knew about Dumbledore's secret prisoners. That teacher had sworn that he wouldn't let things get out of control, but had failed miserably. __I won't fail this time__. He promised mentally. __I will not fail you, old friends. You will be rescued yet._

_**DownwithDumbledorkDownwithDumbledork**_

Remus Lupin had only been in the cell for a few months, when he heard a soft scratching sound coming from the wall. He backed up and was surprised to see a teen that looked very much like Harry. The teen grinned sadly then crawled backwards out the hole, back to where he came from. Remus heard a muffled voice, who he suspected was the teen, say calmly "Alright, I got through. You have to make it so that it can't be seen by the guards."

"Alright." Came a soft female voice. _That sounds like Lily! _Remus thought in shock. _But Lily's dead, I know it! I saw her body! And who was that boy? He looked almost like Tom Riddle, but that's not possible! He'd be over fifty years old by now, not to mention that he's Voldemort! _Remus ran the theories through his mind, becoming more confused by the minute. He slowly lost awareness of his surroundings as he thought. A distant voice called to him softly. "Remus?" The female voice echoed in his head. "Are you alright?"

"Lily?" He asked, confused. Indeed, the red-head was standing over him with a worried expression on her face. "How... How are you alive? You were killed by Vol... Voldemort. It doesn't make any sense." Remus had a look of panic on his face.

"Remy? How'd you end up in here?" Sirius asked as he poked his head through the hole.

"That's it! I must be dead! Or Voldemort's got me under some sort of spell! This can't be real!" Remus started shaking slightly. His voice was sad, depressed even. "Dumbledore said you were dead. I saw you die, Sirius. You can't be alive. It just doesn't make sense. How come you're here?"

"Dumbledore's the one who threw you into this hell on earth. He wants to have complete control over the Wizarding World. And now that he's gotten rid of you, Harry's completely open to be his pawn." Sirius was very mad at Dumbledore. Somehow, he managed to stay calm while talking to Remus. "We - meaning Lily, James, Tom, and I, - have been working on ways to get out of here. It'll be easier now that you're here, though."

Remus was about to respond when his eyes widened. "Sirius, the mirror!"

"Huh?" Sirius said eloquently, looking very confused.

"The two-way mirror! Do you have it with you? If you do, we can contact Harry!"

"I already tried that! He doesn't seem to carry it around with him, ever." Sirius sighed. All of the sudden he yelped and reached into his pocket. "Never mind then." He said before looking at it. "Kiddo? You alright? Where the heck are you?"

"Long story." Harry's voice echoed slightly. "I decided to try talking to you since I trust everyone in the car."

"Is that Sirius?" A girl's voice was heard. "I... I thought he was dead! I mean... in the Department of Mysteries, the veil... I could have sworn he was dead!"

"Who's that?" James murmured in a hushed voice.

"Hey Ginny!" Sirius called. "How are the twins doing with their joke shop?" He paused as Ginny replied with a simple 'very well' "Who's in there with you?"

"Well, you know Ginny's in here, but Draco and Blaise are here as well." Sirius looked confused. "Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini. Draco's been helping me out a lot. He got me away from Dumbledore and told me about the fact that you were still alive. I'm on the Hogwarts train right now. Need to recruit."

"Recruit for what, kiddo?" There was a pause, then Sirius laughed darkly. "So you're gonna kill Dumbledork and Voldemort, huh?" The other four exchanged worried looks. "As soon as I get out of here I'll help in any way I can. I broke out once before and I'll do it again!"

"Don't even waste your energy." Draco said coldly. "Those are specially made cells. You won't be getting out any time soon on your own." He smirked secretively. "Just wait awhile. You'll be let out soon enough." Sirius just scowled in response.

"I agree with him, Sirius." Sirius and Remus both felt their jaws drop. "Don't do anything stupid, Sirius. That goes for everyone! Remus, don't try to 'reason with' me. I know what I'm doing. Just trust me on this. You'll be out before Christmas, if I get my way." Harry was perfectly calm. "But I have to get changed now. Bye."

Lily looked depressed. "He... he didn't even try to talk to us. James, do you think he's even gonna care?" Tears crept into her eyes. "What if he doesn't want us? What if..."

Tom sighed. _Why do they all have to be Gryffindors? They're so emotional. It's creepy. _Tom just looked bored. "Look Lily, if he doesn't care that much, blame Dumbledore. He really hasn't grown up to care. And you won't know until you see him face to face, so stop overreacting."

While Lily was arguing with Tom, Remus thought quietly. _Whatever you're thinking Harry, don't put your life on the line for me. Stay safe._

_**DownwithDumbledorkDownwithDumbledork**_

Well, that's chapter 3. I really hope you like it. Please review. I love getting _constructive criticism,_ not flames. Some anonymous (and in my opinion, cowardly) reviewers on my other story flamed me because they don't like Ginny. Not my problem. Anyways, please review.

Note: I have major writer's block on my other story, so don't get mad if I don't update it.


	5. Chapter 4

Chappie 4! I'm really happy 'cause I'm getting the 7th book tonight, even if it isn't really a surprise anymore. I know what's gonna happen... oh well. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

Old news on the book. I went to a midnight magic party. Read it in three days.

NOTICE: Past and Present is going on hiatus due to a major case of writer's block. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I will attempt to work past it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Shouldn't you know that by now?

E.O.L.** -****5 - The artifact which is the source of my power will not be kept on the Mountain of Despair beyond the River of Fire guarded by the Dragons of Eternity. It will be in my safe-deposit box. The same applies to the object which is my one weakness.**

_Last Time- Tom just looked bored. "Look Lily, if he doesn't care that much, blame Dumbledore. He really hasn't grown up to care. And you won't know until you see him face to face, so stop overreacting."_

_While Lily was arguing with Tom, Remus thought quietly._ _**Whatever you're thinking Harry, don't put your life on the line for me. Stay safe.**_

Warning: There will be both violence and swearing later in this story. It will not be incredibly graphic, but be prepared.

_**MoronsintheMinistryMoronsintheMinistry**_

The four in the car were still chatting lazily when the train pulled to a stop. Harry looked kinda bored, watching Ginny talk about her time working at her brother's shop. "And then the thing blew up in my face! I'm still washing the blue out of those clothes!" Draco and Blaise laughed as Harry smiled distantly. Ginny looked at Harry and sighed. "Cheer up Harry. They might've been involved in an argument, or sleeping or something."

"What if they don't want me anymore?" Harry whispered. "What if they couldn't wait, or think that I don't deserve them?" He was in full-on angst mode.

"Does he always do this?" Blaise asked in a bored voice. Potter was insane in her view. He seemed so Gryffindorish and pathetic. She didn't understand it, nor did she know why she felt strangely attracted to him. _Damn it! He's such an idiot; I should've never agreed to work with him!_

"Shut up, Blaise." Draco said coolly. "You never had to go through anything like that. You don't know what it's like."

"And you do?" Blaise winced at the harshness of her own voice.

"My parents," He started softly, "Never cared about me." He turned away and smirked. _If Blaise is fooled then Dumbledore will fall for it hook, line, and sinker. _He snickered. Blaise was giving him a slightly mortified look. "Blaise, ever heard of acting?" He said. She stared at him like he was crazy.

"We can't let Dumbledore know that I'm thinking for myself and that I'm not depressed. The two of us will be acting as though we're both depressed..."

"Me being mildly so." Draco cut in, earning him an annoyed look from Harry.

"... and that we still hate each other. Dumbledore can't know that we're working together." Harry ended, still annoyed at Draco.

"That was just cruel guys." Ginny said with a sigh. "But come on let's go. We'll be late."

The boys went back to acting depressed, coolly (if it's even possible) running to the carriages. They grabbed the last empty carriage, just before they started to move. On the way to the school, the four discussed their plans, as well as who to bring into the group. Blaise managed to talk the boys out of their emo act, so she was happy. Ginny was happy because, for once, someone was telling her what was going on.

As soon as the group entered the school, everyone knew something was up. After all, Draco and Harry never got along, but there they were, laughing like they were best friends. Blaise Zabini and Ginny Weasley were following behind, chatting. Students and staff members alike stared at them. Harry looked at the Gryffindor table and sighed before turning to sit down. Before he took a step though, Draco grabbed him and dragged him to the Slytherin table. Blaise followed, dragging a confused Ginny behind her. "You two are sitting here today." Blaise said calmly. The Slytherins stared at their unofficial leader and his second in confusion and mortification.

Dumbledore calmly stood up and asked. "What is the meaning of this?" Unfortunately, McGonagall chose that time to bring the firsties in. Poor kids, confused out of their mind. Anyway, Dumbledore eyed the two Gryffindors calmly. "Well?"

"We're just sitting with our friends, professor." Harry said, perfectly calm. "After all, you did say we should get to know people in other houses, didn't you?" Dumbledore eyed him suspiciously, not seeming to trust Draco or Blaise, both of whom looked just plain bored.

"Yes Mr. Potter, I did say that. However, the sorting requires all students to sit at their house table." Dumbledore made of big deal of sounding tired and exasperated.

Suddenly, an irritated voice sounded from the staff table. "Give it a rest, Dumbledore." The woman held her head up high, her sharp violet eyes piercing Dumbledore, causing him to flinch slightly. Her purple-black hair cascaded down her back in waves, reaching to the small of her back. Unlike everyone else in the building, she didn't wear the classic wizards' robes either. She wore what appeared to be dragonhide robes, making her look like she was wearing armor. "They can sit there if they want to."

"Miss Kazumae, I must disagree." Dumbledore said. The woman only got more annoyed.

"I'm not your student anymore." She ground out. Harry noticed something that surprised him while she scowled at Dumbledore. She had fangs. No one else had noticed, though. "And you do realized that there are absolutely no rules about where students sit to eat, no matter what day it is?"

"Well, I..." Dumbledore feebly tried to defend himself from the intimidating girl.

"Well, nothing! The sorting needs to continue, so go sit down!" The girl lashed out at him. Then she turned to the students. "It would probably be easier if you two sat over at the Gryffindor table during the sorting. You can come back here afterwards." The two Gryffindors nodded, not really in the mood to argue with their frightening new professor. The two stood and walked quickly over to the Gryffindor table. As they sat down, McGonagall shook herself out of her stupor, and called out the first name. None of the still shocked first years stepped forward. She called out the name another ten times before the young girl stepped forward. And with that, the sorting had begun, and Dumbledore's warning time ran out. Come morning he wouldn't be able to move. Harry would make sure of that.

_**MoronsintheMinistryMoronsintheMinistry**_

Alright, that's chapter 4 for ya. I'll try to update faster, but no promises. I'm going to start High School, so it might speed up (typing while I'm supposed to be doing homework) but... yeah. No guarantee. I'll listen to any suggestions for prank ideas, cause the twins come to Hogwarts for a visit later and they set up a temporary shop. So... yeah. I need ideas.

Kazuki Kazumae is the new defense teacher. She is OC, completely from my imagination. She's the little voice that scolded me when I didn't do my homework. I can't stand her in the least, so Dumbles can deal with her. Kazumae is a name I made up. You need to ask if you can use it. Deal with it. Anyways, that's it for now. Enjoy whatever you do next!


	6. Chapter 5

(Sighs) I can't do this anymore. You take over, Kazuki. I need a break. _You can't do that! I have no creativity! You know that! _Just deal with it! _Whatever. Alright, this is Kazuki. Yazi snapped. This will be chapter five, somehow. I apologize for any inconvenience ahead of time. It'll probably end up as a filler..._

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I used to own a lot, but now... Now I have nothing. It totally sucks._

E.O.L.** – 40 -****I will be neither chivalrous nor sporting. If I have an unstoppable superweapon, I will use it as early and as often as possible instead of keeping it in reserve.**

_Last Time- She called out the name another ten times before the young girl stepped forward. And with that, the sorting had begun, and Dumbledore's warning time ran out. Come morning he wouldn't be able to move. Harry would make sure of that._

Warning: There will be both violence and swearing later in this story. It will not be incredibly graphic, but be prepared.

_**MoronsintheMinistryMoronsintheMinistry**_

Harry lay in bed, quietly contemplating what to do to Dumbledore. He had a suspicion that the twins had exactly what he needed, so he decided to try something. _They're probably awake anyway. I'm sure they won't mind a visitor. _Harry nodded to himself and stood up, casting an illusion on his bed. _I probably should have a license. _He mused to himself before apparating away.

Fred Weasley stood over a cauldron working on a new product when he heard an odd shifting sound. It sounded almost like someone was behind him. He slowly put down what he was working on, then grabbed his wand and spun around, only to find himself face to face with Harry Potter. "Harry?! How the hell did you get here?" He exclaimed in shock. George ran down the stairs, bumping into his twin once he reached the bottom.

"I just decided to stop by." Harry said in an innocent voice that made the twins smirk.

"Who's the victim?" George asked curiously. Fred was contemplating what he could give Harry to help out.

"Dumbledore." Fred smirked as George stared in shock.

"Are you serious?" George asked. "That would cause massive chaos if they found out who was behind it! Especially if it lasted for a long time!"

"That's why I came to you first. But if you're not up to it, I can always find someone else to help me." He said slowly, taunting them. The young man looked away innocently as the two looked at each other, George biting his lip and Fred smirking.

"We'll do it."

"Perfect! Now, do you have anything that can..." He lowered his voice down to a whisper, so my informant has no clue what he's planning. You'll just have to wait.

_**MoronsintheMinistryMoronsintheMinistry**_

The next morning, Harry walked into the Great Hall with a video camera. He got odd looks from the teachers, but they dismissed the oddity quickly. After all, what harm could a simple camera do to them? Kazuki sighed and stood up. "I need to finish the preparations" she said coolly, glancing at Harry in a knowing way. It was obvious that she knew something was up. _Good, now I won't have to worry about pissing off the new teacher. _He thought with a smirk. He really did not want to get on her bad side after the previous night's performance.

As she walked out, the others all filed in. As soon as everyone sat down, an explosion went off at the head table. A pink and blue smoke swirled around the table, taking a while to dissipate. When it did, the students gasped. There was now a female Dumbledore standing there in total shock. The other teachers looked down at themselves and gasped. All of them had changed. Suddenly, laughter echoed throughout the hall. "I knew it! I knew something was going to happen!" The stoic Kazumae leaned against the wall to support her shaking form, holding her sides from pain. "True ... True Marauder style, kid. I haven't laughed like that since my sixth year!"

At the table, Snape snorted from what was obviously a hilarious memory. "This is a serious matter!" McGonagall said darkly, her deep voice making it even scarier. Or, should I say _his_ deep voice? Harry, Kazuki, and Severus all ignored her, as Snape had long since started laughing, most likely due to her... um... his voice. "There was nothing funny about that prank!"

"What prank does he mean?" Harry asked, the he not going unnoticed by the students, and some snickered. He glanced from between the two women, noting with surprise that Snape looked mildly normal as a girl. It was very unnerving.

"For Minerva's birthday, the Marauder's decided to get her a present." Snape began smirking. "They sent her on a search around the school, and tricked Dumbledore into going into an ambush. They tied him up, put a bow on his head and hung a banner saying 'enjoy the present'. They were both mortified and embarrassed. It took weeks for them to recover." She started to laugh again at the look on Dumbledore and McGonagall's faces.

"Best part was that everyone else, even the staff, knew about it and had come to watch. It was hilarious!" Kazuki began to laugh again as well, causing Dumbledore to flush with embarrassment.

Harry's eye twitched at the sight before him. The two most intimidating teachers, neither of whom cared what happened to him, or even liked him, were laughing at his prank. Suddenly, Harry thought of a song that fit the situation. _It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine... _He sighed at the irony. Who thought he'd cause the end of the world? Oh, right. The Dursleys had. He was mildly surprised that they'd been right, but hey. First time for everything, right?

Unfortunately for the students, they had used their entire breakfast laughing. Poor them.

_**MoronsintheMinistryMoronsintheMinistry**_

That night, Harry relayed the events of the morning to Sirius. By the end of the conversation, his godfather had gone through multiple obvious stages. 1) Calm. He didn't seem surprised that Kazumae had known what he was up to. 2) Shock that said professor had been laughing. 3) Insane laughter at Harry's descriptions of the pranked professors. 4) Horror at the fact that Snape looked more normal as a girl.

The last was the most entertaining, however.

"So why's Kazi at Hogwarts?" Sirius asked. Remus, James, and Lily had all wanted to know as well. Tom didn't care, so he was playing with girls.

"She's the new Defense Professor." He responded calmly. Jaws dropped, and, to his future horror, Sirius Black fainted from shock. Harry did the only thing he could in a situation like that. He laughed. He laughed and laughed, relaxing for the first time in ages. And to his shock, his mother looked at him and smiled, before beginning to giggle and eventually breaking into full-on laughter. Harry smiled sadly, before it disappeared. James saw it, and swore he would talk to Lily about it later.

Lily stopped laughing and looked at Harry. She had a very serious face. "Harry." She said in a slightly malicious voice. The men nearby all flinched and scooted away, causing Harry to wince at the tone. She ignored the very visible reactions and continued. "Do you have a camera?"

_**MoronsintheMinistryMoronsintheMinistry**_

Finally, chapter 6! Why'd it take you so long Kazuki? _Shut up, you freak! You know that I can't write for the life of me! NEVER MAKE ME DO THIS AGAIN!!!! _Wow, she is pissed. Okay, this chapter is passable, and I'm too lazy to re-write it, so here you go! Please enjoy the chapter!

If you give me any ideas for pranks (even like 'turn them pink') I'll try to include it. Any suggestions will be taken.

This is a warning I forgot to post on my other story; FLAME FOR CHARACTERS AND DIE!!!! I hate the anonymous losers who can't even find the courage to log in before they flame! That is just cowardly! _**Please don't do that!**_ If you do, I'll automatically think that you are a coward who can't right anything. You don't want that.


	7. Chapter 6

Hello peoples! Good to be back! Sorry if the last chapter sucked, but it IS Kazuki we're talking about. I hope you enjoy the chapter! Oh, I've got some weird idea in my head that personalities can be read by eye color, so I think I'll be making a quiz later. If that happens I'll let you know. If you want information on your eye color, just send me a pm, e-mail, or review. Make sure to tell me the color.

Disclaimer: If I've told you once I've told you a million times. _I own nothing!_ I never have, and never will. It sucks, but it is true. Deal with it!

E.O.L.** – 92 - If I ever talk to the hero on the phone, I will not taunt him. Instead I will say that his dogged perseverance has given me new insight on the futility of my evil ways and that if he leaves me alone for a few months of quiet contemplation I will likely return to the path of righteousness. (Heroes are incredibly gullible in this regard.) **

_Last Time- "She's the new Defense Professor." He responded calmly. Jaws dropped, and, to his future horror, Sirius Black fainted from shock. Harry did the only thing he could in a situation like that. He laughed. He laughed and laughed, relaxing for the first time in ages. And to his shock, his mother looked at him and smiled, before beginning to giggle and eventually breaking into full-on laughter. Harry smiled sadly, before it disappeared. James saw it, and swore he would talk to Lily about it later._

_Lily stopped laughing and looked at Harry. She had a very serious face. "Harry." She said in a slightly malicious voice. The men nearby all flinched and scooted away, causing Harry to wince at the tone. She ignored the very visible reactions and continued. "Do you have a camera?"_

Warning: There will be both violence and swearing later in this story. It will not be incredibly graphic, but be prepared.

_**MoronsintheMinistryMoronsintheMinistry**_

Harry blinked once, looking at his mom. He sighed, appearing to be disappointed. "If we took a picture people would think he'd just been sleeping." His tone had a total 'no duh' quality to it, causing Lily to look down in a mixture of anger and embarrassment. He sighed again. "Memories work much better."

"No! Do not join the dark side of blackmailers!" James shouted, mortified that his son had to inherit that quality from his wife.

Tom, on the other hand, had a very calculative look on his face. "How long have you been in the blackmail business?" He queried. "Because there's this nice shop on Knockturn Alley called Hanged Mans Books that you should have a look at. It has books like my journal and one dedicated to blackmail. It has these vials, for storing memories, and it sorts itself according to the person the memory humiliates the most. Very useful."

"Don't help him!" James and Remus shouted, the former pointing an accusing finger at Tom, and the latter looking horrified.

Sirius Black awoke to a whole hell of a lot of shouting. Something about helping someone blackmail... James was doing the shouting. That was new. Shouldn't Lily be the one to argue about things like that? He groaned alerting people to his presence. "Why is James shouting at Tom?" He asked no one in particular.

"He's helping Harry to blackmail you!" James and Remus shouted. His eyes widened in horror.

"You're one of them?!" Sirius gasped out in horror. "Wait... Why would he be blackmailing me?"

"You passed out on the floor." Harry smirked as Sirius gaped in fear. "Tom was giving me tips on where to store the memories. Thanks for the help, by the way." Sirius looked between the eerily similar teens as Tom nodded to his godson.

"No problem, Harry. If you ever need any pointers, let me know."

"Alright. I need to get some sleep tonight, so I'll talk to you all again tomorrow."

"Goodnight!" The cheerful voices of Tom and Lily called as the others continued in mortified rants. Before Harry could close out the call, he heard Tom shout "Shut up already!" He chuckled before finally cutting contact.

_**MoronsintheMinistryMoronsintheMinistry**_

Harry woke up the next morning with a plan. After yesterday morning's prank, he felt pretty confident. However, he knew that he needed people to support him. So, he decided to put his next plan into action.

Harry walked into the Great Hall two hours before it opened for breakfast. With a snap of his fingers, three house elves were lined up in front of him. "What can we do for you sir?" One female house elf asked. Harry studied them carefully, before replying.

"I'm doing an experiment with... house unity. I'm going to need your help, though." The house elves looked very eager to help. "I need you to break up the tables so that ten people can fit at a table comfortably, and help me scatter them. I'm going to cast a spell so that there has to be at least two different houses per table. Can you help me with this?"

"Of course, sir! It is already done." Harry blinked. Indeed, the tables had already been broken apart and scattered. "We will place the spell, to, sir. It will make it so that once a person has sat down, no other people from that house can sit down until another house has joined."

"Perfect! Thank you for all your help. I know who to call if I need anything in the future." Harry said, looking at the house elves with a grin. The said creatures bowed and disappeared. Harry then walked over to a table on the Slytherin side of the room, preferring the slight darkness to the brilliant sunlight that was beginning on the horizon, and pulled out a book. Settling into the chair, Harry waited for the early risers to come. He couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces.

An hour passed with no arrivals. Then two. Harry scowled. _What's taking so long? We have class today! _Then it hit him. He had locked the door on the way in. _Oops..._ Harry quickly packed up his stuff and slipped out into the hallway via Slytherin's passageways. He landed in a remote area and, with ease, blended into the crowd. Soon he had approached the front, as people seemed to think he could undo this and let them get to the food. He could smell it under the door. No wonder they looked tortured. He, deciding that they needed to see what he'd done to the tables, grabbed the door handles, released the charms, and swung the door open. The fastest few sat down, and everyone else was stopped by the charms.

Draco scowled and looked at Harry. "What did you do to the tables?" The confused Slytherin ground out. He couldn't sit down because Blaise had beaten him to the table. Harry smirked and shook his head at the blonde, clearly amused.

"Nothing much, Draco. He said after sitting down. He then motioned for the blonde to join them. Reluctantly, and a little nervously, Draco sat down. Nothing happened. People all over the hall began to blink. Ginny, who had been asleep until moments ago, walked over and sat down as well. Right behind her was Luna, who promptly sat down as well. Surprisingly, Neville, Colin, and Hannah all joined as well. Arguments broke out as people tried to break the charms and hit the food or their friends. Eventually, some intelligent Ravenclaw announced what they thought was going on. But, more important was the fact the Ginny seemed to have informed the four newcomers of Harry's holiday stint and they wanted to know more.

"We'll meet in the Room of Requirement at 7 tonight. Alright?" Everyone nodded.

_**MoronsintheMinistryMoronsintheMinistry**_

Okay! Another chapter done! Here, I've got a bit of a challenge for you. The following is a list of the positions Harry's (or rather Zaren's) army will have for the lieutenants. I want you to guess at who fills each position, and tell me if I'm missing any major ones. Thanks!

1) Dark Lord (given)

2) Potions Master

3) Head Strategist

4) Vampire Contact

5) Werewolf Contact

6) Head of Outside Intelligence (enemy plans)

7) Head of Cursebreaker Department

8) Lead Dragonmaster (no duh they have dragons, why else would they be the _Dragon _Legions)

9) Head of Agricultural Department (think potion ingredients)

10) Spell Designers (obvious if you think about it)

11) Head Architect. (needs to have someone who can build a lair...)

12) Training Coach

13) Head of Inside Intelligence (loyalties and allies inside the army)

14) Head Recruiter

15) Lead Healer

16) Outfit Designer (look at the List)

17) Lead Spy

18) Second in Command (sorry, they aren't in any order...)

19) Creature Expert

20) Runes Expert

This way you have something to think about and an idea of how many characters will be important. Sorry for all the commentary. I'm sure you can deal with it.


	8. Chapter 7

Hello peoples! Good to be back! Sorry if the last chapter sucked, but it IS Kazuki we're talking about. I hope you enjoy the chapter! Oh, I've got some weird idea in my head that personalities can be read by eye color, so I think I'll be making a quiz later. If that happens I'll let you know. If you want information on your eye color, just send me a pm, e-mail, or review. Make sure to tell me the color.

Disclaimer: If I've told you once I've told you a million times. _I own nothing!_ I never have, and never will. It sucks, but it is true. Deal with it!

E.O.L.** – 13 – All slain enemies will be cremated, or at least have several rounds of ammunition emptied into them, not left for dead at the bottom of the cliff. The announcement of their deaths, as well as any accompanying celebration, will be deferred until after the aforementioned disposal.**

_Last Time- Ginny, who had been asleep until moments ago, walked over and sat down as well. Right behind her was Luna, who promptly sat down as well. Surprisingly, Neville, Colin, and Hannah all joined as well. Arguments broke out as people tried to break the charms and hit the food or their friends. Eventually, some intelligent Ravenclaw announced what they thought was going on. But, more important was the fact the Ginny seemed to have informed the four newcomers of Harry's holiday stint and they wanted to know more._

"_We'll meet in the Room of Requirement at 7 tonight. Alright?" Everyone nodded._

Warning: There will be both violence and swearing later in this story. It will not be incredibly graphic, but be prepared.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

Morning classes were all very boring. The teachers all droned on about how it was NEWT year and how they would have much higher expectations, blah blah blah... The speech must have been taught at teacher training. Or maybe force-fed. But the one afternoon class Harry had, DADA, was something he was looking forward to. Apparently Kazumae was very good at defense, and he couldn't wait to see if she could meet his incredibly high standards.

Defense began at 2 PM, after a free period. In that class were all the 'advanced' defenders. Many of them excelled at theory or practical alone, and many couldn't think up what spell to use if it hadn't been preplanned for them. And, sadly, many would join the Aurors. Well, sad for them anyways. Harry desperately hoped she'd teach them something different and useful, unlike the other teachers.

The class had piled in and was waiting for the teacher, who had apparently decided to try the 'Snape' approach to teaching. The door slammed with a loud and echoing crash into the wall. "Sit down!" Kazuki snapped darkly. "I don't care what kind of teachers you have had in the past. You are to listen to me, do what I say, and not question my teaching methods. We are in a war. The most important classes are the ones that can save you. Potions, DADA, and Healing. I don't care if you pass your NEWTs or not. It doesn't matter if you pass the tests as long as you learn enough to keep yourselves alive!" She drew in a deep breath, and seemed to be calming herself down. "I only took this job to make sure that as few people as possible died. I despise Dumbledore. Voldemort is _nothing_. I am currently neutral, so I don't give a damn if you all turn dark! So no talk of what side you're on.

"In this class we will have regular drills. I will pass cards out to everyone, and there are three cards. One has the dark mark on it," A few students gasped, but the professor ignored them. "Another has a phoenix, for Dumbledore's side, and the last is blank. Blank cards equal civilians. You will each be asked to meet with your group in a different section of the room." As she said this, people realized that she was handing out the cards as she stalked around the room. "There you will receive a list of spells you are permitted to use. These spells change every time we do this exercise. You must defend yourself from all attacks on your person without knowing what is coming, because some people have longer spell lists than others. Strategize. Plan. Use your knowledge to the best of your ability. And above all," Here Kazuki's voice dropped down to nothing more than a whisper. "Survive."

She walked up to the front of the room once more. "But for this class, we'll be doing something special. Mr. Potter, I would very much like to see how well you could play Voldemort. And that means we need to pick someone to play Dumbledore..."

"That won't be necessary Ms. Kazumae." Dumbledore said from the now open doorway. "I'll participate in your little game, I suppose." He paused and looked at the already planning Potter, who was lazily twirling his wand in his fingers. "The Ministry has decided to come review your progress and teaching method, so I'm sure they'll love the show." The headmaster locked eyes with the defense professor once more. He calmly looked to the class, scanning the cards each one had. Oddly enough, only the few that had sat at Harry's table for breakfast had cards with the mark on them, while half the class had a phoenix on their cards. The rest were blank.

"Alright." Kazuki nodded calmly. "So, the dark side has Potter at the head, Malfoy, Zabini, Abbott, and Longbottom. You five can meet up by my desk. On the light..."

Harry walked calmly up to the desk, taking the two lists from the professor. Once there he tossed one to Draco after glancing at it and making sure it wasn't just for the position of 'dark lord'. Then, turning halfway around, Harry... er, _Voldemort_ set up a basic ward to prevent Dumbledore from hearing his plans. "Draco, what do you say to taking on a persona of your own, hm?"

Draco looked at him and said, in a voice equal to the one used by Lucius in addressing the Dark Lord, "I would love to, milord." He glanced around at the other three. "I can help you to select false identities for the others as well, if you wish."

"Of course." Harry said in a voice that was almost soft enough to be a hiss. Leaving Draco to take care of business, Harry undid the seal on his own list and chuckled at what he saw, written in the teacher's small and delicate handwriting. _Anything you can think of that is not illegal._ That left him with so many choices, and a chance to truly be creative, too. Of course, he knew that Dumbledore was probably going to be given the same freedom, but he also knew the older wizard would greatly underestimate him once again.

"Milord, we have decided who to act as." Neville murmured. At the ebony-haired wizard's nod, he elaborated. "As you previously saw, Draco will act as his father, Lucius. Blaise so kindly agreed to work as Bellatrix, and Hannah shall be acting as Maria Edgecomb, mother of Marietta Edgecomb. I myself will take the part of Augustus Rookwood."

"Perfect." Harry said softly. He glanced over at sudden chattering and realized that the other groups had finally gotten organized and were trying to plan. They were failing miserably, though, as they had much larger groups of students that couldn't get past their differences. Dumbledore was frustrated, and all five members of the 'Dark' could feel it coming off in waves with the minor legilimency training they'd had. However, since the wizard's face showed no trace of it, and their teacher was going to great lengths to keep from bursting out in laughter, they refrained from anything more than a slight chuckle.

Strategizing in the Death Eaters came to a close, and the ward was canceled. Dumbledore eyed them cautiously before approaching Harry. He, as well as the rest of the highly intrigued crowd, noticed how the other four had very tight grips on their wands and dark looks on their faces. The grips relaxed slightly upon Harry's barely visible nod, but the looks remained. "I hope you realize what you are getting yourselves into, Mr. Potter. You will have quite a fight ahead of you."

Harry chuckled to himself. Dumbledore was once again shocked by how much he looked like Tom Riddle, before he had been replaced. _Potter might have to disappear soon..._ But Dumbledore's contemplation was cut off by Harry's voice as he turned to the Defense Professor. "Would we be able to stop by the Transfiguration classroom on the way to the Great Hall? I need to speak to Luna about... something of vague importance." Harry was slowly shifting his vocabulary to match the way he had heard Tom talk to him. It was surprisingly easy... and it obviously unnerved Dumbledore, which was a huge bonus.

Kazuki eyed him before realizing what he was talking about. Lovegood was very good at temporary human transfigurations, and Harry obviously wanted to irritate Dumbledore more than she did, so it made sense. "Alright." Kazuki said coolly. "You five will come with me to McGonagall's classroom. The rest of you head down to the Great Hall. I'll meet you down there."

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

McGonagall was still giving the after-OWL lecture when a knock on the door interrupted her. "Come in." She sighed, irritated. Her students were watching the door, very curious as to the identity of their savior. When Kazuki popped her head in through the door, McGonagall sighed. She honestly didn't have any clue as to why the Headmaster had hired her. "What is it, Kazuki?" Her tired voice made the question sound more like a statement.

"Remember that training exercise I told you about?" Minerva nodded. "Well, my sixth years are doing that right now, and my 'Dark Lord' wants to speak to Miss Lovegood."

"I'll be right back after I play around with eye and hair color, Professor." Luna said in her usual misty voice as she walked out into the hall. Once outside she began to research. She transfigured the school robes into DE robes, and conjured pieces of wood that she transfigured into masks. Then she passed out some edible Dark Marks, and the Death Eater imposters had been taken care of. Then she looked at Harry and grinned. Murmuring spells faster than people could follow; she turned his eyes red, transfigured his robes, and messed around with his hair to match younger Riddle's style. Backing up, she admired her handiwork. They really did look like Death Eaters and the Dark Lord. At least to her and the defense professor.

"Mr. Malfoy, please go get Professor Snape and any other teachers you think would enjoy this performance." Kazuki said lazily. "Thank you for your help, Miss Lovegood." She ushered the girl back inside and glanced at the irritated professor. Turning to leave, she almost ran down the hall away from the death glare.

A deep chuckle came from behind McGonagall, making her jump and turn around. What she met was an exact replica of Tom Riddle sitting on her desk. "Don't be you want to watch Dumbledore lose a fight, Minerva?" He asked in a very soft voice. "Because that's all that's going to happen. Even if you don't come... I'll need to borrow Colin and his video camera." Colin blinked. Most people didn't like it when he taped them doing something stupid. Obviously Harry thought he'd win.

McGonagall frowned. She knew that the Headmaster would win the fight, but Potter seemed so confident... She needed to see this. "Alright Potter, we'll come."

He smirked and nodded at her. Just as he was about to ghost out of the room, he turned and looked at Colin. "You do know how to replicate the tapes, correct?" Colin nodded. "Then prepare to make copies. You'll be selling them for quite a bit after this." He chuckled once more and left.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

Dude... that was a freakin long chapter! Well, in comparison anyways. I still have the entire fight scene planned in my head, and that might even double this in length. So...yeah. Enjoy the chapter! I hope you like the story so far. I swear it will pick up the pace soon, I just need to get all the members I can together before Christmas (in the story) and then the Dragon Legions will be official. Dumbles and the Idiots will ignore them, of course, but whatever.

The fight is a warning to the world. Guess who takes it seriously. And yes, at least one person does.


	9. Chapter 8

Hey people! Wow, looks like I'm getting pretty far on this story... Awesome! I'm such a slow typer that even when I get ideas it takes forever to get them out! But I have a system now! Let's hope it will keep working... Okay, enough of that. Enjoy the chapter. Also, I accidentally said 'sixth years' last chapter. They're seventh years.

**Note: **Pairing ideas are still welcome, even if the character you want hasn't been introduced yet. Only thing banned is fem!slash, cause I don't know how to write it! Please give me your ideas!

Disclaimer: If I've told you once I've told you a million times. _I own nothing!_ I never have, and never will. It sucks, but it is true. Deal with it!

E.O.L.** – 32 – I will not fly into a rage and kill a messenger who brings me bad news just to illustrate how evil I really am. Good messengers are hard to come by.**

_Last Time- Kazuki Kazumae, the new DADA professor, set up a game for training – one that many are excited for and all want to join. With some reluctance, teachers agree to allow their students to join the audience of Ministry members to watch the show. After all, Potter's playing the Dark Lord and Dumbledore's in it. What could possibly go wrong?_

Warning: There will be both violence and swearing later in this story. It will not be incredibly graphic, but be prepared. Maybe a bit graphic, but that's unavoidable. Plainly put, this is the worst for a while.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

In the Great Hall, the tables had been morphed to form a statue. Oddly enough, it looked like the one from the Ministry Atrium. An exact replica, to be precise...

But did that faze any of the Ministry officials sitting in the chairs? Absolutely not. It was only a play, after all. Besides, a Gryffindor was in charge of the dark. He'd probably only cast stunners, anyways.

People quieted down when they saw the DADA Professor walk out. "Sorry for the delay. There was a little change of plans. Instead of an attack on Hogsmeade, we'll be focusing on the Ministry. The dark sect has not informed me of when they plan to attack, nor of what they plan to do. However, I cast a spell here that I just recently tested and found to be very useful. Any spells cast will instantly have their effects undone once the spell is removed. _Voldie_, this means all your limitations have been removed.

"Ministry officials are to act like they don't know an attack is going to occur. As this is the last class of the day, it could be awhile, so just relax and go about your business.

"I was also asked to inform you all that the five members of the Dark that we have all chose the identities of Death Eaters – and in one case, the Dark Lord – to act as. This means any unusual names you hear will have reasoning behind them. And you won't be told who is playing who, so let's hope that they can be convincing!"

With her announcements finally done Kazuki stepped out of the way of the people and sat down on the sidelines.

Nothing happened for five minutes, so the Ministry officials relaxed, believing the dark to have been scared away, or unable to get through the make-shift wards that had been set up. Walking around cheerfully, they began to chat, confident that they would recognize an attack before it could occur. Around a shadowed side of the doorway, an odd flicker drew a few eyes. Breaths were drawn, fear took hold, and... nothing happened. Even in the crowd people seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

Lucius breathed out his own sigh of relief. If these people weren't so incompetent, he'd have been caught. No matter. He was in, and now he just had to make sure that Bellatrix, Maria, and Augustus got in. _Wait for it... Now!_ He fired off a weak Dragon fire spell, with a half-cloaking spell. People saw it as a fireball when the spell wore off, on the other side of the room. The 'highly trained' Aurors instantly started searching for the source... on the wrong side of the room. Lucius took advantage of the distraction and quickly dropped the anti-portkey and anti-apperation wards and replaced them with some keyed into the Dark Mark. _And three... two... one... Go!_

Lucius Malfoy leapt from the shadows to screams and cries of panic. The Death Eater mask firmly in place, everyone was in shock. "Edgecombe, block the exits!" He called. As the Dark Lord's right hand man, he called the shots until their Lord arrived to join the party. So that's what he'd do. Reveling in the screams of fear, Lucius watched as Bellatrix cast yet another _crucio _on poor Arthur Weasley. The man would be sharing a room with the Longbottoms after this.

A spell cast at him caused him to jump out of the way. The Order had arrived, but Dumbledore was nowhere in sight. Perfect.

Before him stood Alastor Moody, the ex-Auror. "I knew you couldn't be trusted, Malfoy." The man – could he even be called a man? – growled at Lucius, before throwing out multitudes of barely-legal spells. Lucius dodged each with ease, feeling no rush. As long as Dumbledore didn't show up anytime soon, he'd be fine. After all, Mad-eye wasn't someone he could just kill with a simple _avada kadavera_. No, it had to be so much more complex than that. After all, the man had to suffer for his stupidity.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

Rookwood dodged another spell. _Why do they only go after me?_ He thought darkly. _Lucius and Bellatrix are the truly dangerous ones! _Continuing to curse his comrades for scaring off the Aurors, he evaded another spell. What was with these people?! Only stunners and disarmers, how childish! They needed much more ingenuity. More creativity. More... anything, really. So he decided to teach them himself. Casting an American version of the stunner, which caused a person to instantly pass out from pain and stay unconscious, he got to work. Not once did he notice the arrival of the Order. After all, they'd never go after him. They couldn't get near him without passing Bellatrix.

Eyes spacing and glazing, he laughed softly as he watched his exotic spells deal their damage. Who knew the Americans and Australians could like causing pain this much? A disarmer that caused the weapon to burn at a searing temperature until the victim dropped it – Australian. An enervation spell that sent a bolt of lightening through a person to wake them up – American, coupled with they stunner from before. How grateful he was to his parents for making him waste his summers there!

Throwing around a few more spells – these from Japan, designed by ninja specifically for fighting against the samurai – Rookwood laughed darkly. If there was one time he truly loved being a Death Eater, it was now. He had the perfect chance to test his strange spells, with no consequences! After all, none of these idiots realized he was a Death Eater for ages, even though he'd been an Unspeakable. It was laughable, really.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

Maria Edgecombe cursed darkly. These idiots didn't have a clue what they were doing! She cast another blinding spell at the crowd of aurors and Order members surrounding her. She wasn't even nervous, but was bored. And ticked off. This is, when combined with PMS and getting to do what she'd always dreamed of, a very bad combination for her enemies. With her dream standing before her, she laughed. _Finally, I can shut these idiots up for good!_ Releasing another Bellatrix-style laugh, she cast out curse after curse, focusing on healing spells. They may have been created to help, but they had interesting results when used on the perfectly healthy.

The bonegrowth spell, for instance, made a person regrow their bones. Useful for healing. Bad if the bone was still there. Very, very bad. And a spell that stimulated the nerves of paralysis victims. Good because it made people able to move again. Bad when they could move because it caused seizures. Uncontrollable, painful seizures.

She ducked another spell with ease. Really, they were making it too easy for her! She let out another crazed laugh and continued her assault.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

Bellatrix Lestrange did not care in the least about what was happening to those around her. All she was concerned about was making sure that her 'insanity' was never doubted. If someone acted insane and really wasn't, they would be underestimated. People would get sloppy. After all, who would think that someone who is insane can dodge and shield better than the 'sane' person their fighting? No one, that's who.

The witch dodged the spells that were flying around her. _Really, do they think I'm an invalid? That I'm stupid? That I'm paralyzed? Or are they just that incompetent?_ A weak stunner flew past her head, missing her by more than a few inches. _Oh yes._ She thought dryly._ They are really that incompetent._

Bellatrix heard a cackling laugh from the other side of the room. "Copycat." She hissed in a soft dark voice. How dare Edgecombe steal her signature! The maniacal laughter was her symbol, and no one else's! But no matter. She had to stay focused. She had many more opponents now that the order had arrived, so she couldn't afford to lose her control now, especially for some trivial matter that could be dealt with later.

A spell suddenly struck her from behind. "Hello cousin dearest." Came the mocking voice. Damn, it had to be her cousin right now. He couldn't wait until she'd finished her fight? Sirius Black stood in a loose dueling stance, a mocking grin plastered on his face. "Well, Bella? Ready to dance?" _Dance? Oh lord, Sirius, don't lose the rest of your brain! You had so little of it to begin with!_

But, to keep up her ruse, she let out a terrifying cackle. "Hello baby Siri! So ready to die, are you? Ready to join your friends in death?" _Siri? Oh god. I'm just as bad as him. Maybe I am losing it..._

Sirius snarled and leapt at her, fully ready to strike. The spells he cast were weak in comparison to Bellatrix's own arsenal of spells, but he was faster. And he obviously wasn't thinking of the consequences. Maybe this would be a bigger problem than she'd thought...

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

The head of the Order of the Phoenix, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, had just arrived and was now calmly walking among the dead. He didn't have time to worry about how many died. A blood boiling hex, however managed to catch his attention. The spell, cast by none other than Lucius Malfoy, was heading straight towards his second in command, Alastor Mad-eye Moody. The spell made contact as Albus watched with morbid fascination. That spell would certainly lead to the man's death. Yet Albus shrugged it off. Alastor would be harder to replace, as he had been a bishop in this game of chess, but replaceable he was.

Just as he was about to make his move and attack Lucius Malfoy, he saw the man's eyes light up with reverence. _Maybe there's hope for him after all._ Dumbledore mused, until a dark chuckle shook him from his stupor. He quickly dodged the spell sent at his back. "It's about time you showed up Tom." Albus mused softly, hoping to irritate the man into a rage. If he lost his self control, he wouldn't remember his shields. But apparently the dark lord had taken anger management, because all he did was scowl.

The Dark Lord chuckled once more, and Albus found himself wondering why he had agreed to do this. He wasn't fighting the Dark Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, he was fighting his students! The Order wasn't dieing, their future was! Albus frowned when Tom – Harry, he reminded himself viciously – began to speak.

"You should watch what your doing, Dumbledore. You might get hurt." His voice got harsher as he spoke, and at the end he jerked roughly on his wand, pulling a spell into place. Dumbledore screamed as a fiery pain coursed through him. Managing to pull his eyes up to see the Dark Lord – _Potter_, his brain hissed – pull up his wand, which had a fire whip attached to the end. He flicked his wrist so that the whip barely touched Dumbledore, and watched him scream in pain. The whip morphed until it was a strange purple color, which dripped on the ground. A dark, sadistic grin spread across his face as he dragged the whip back over Dumbledore's wounds. The purple semi-solid dripped into the wounds and Dumbledore convulsed with pain. "Do you like my new poison, Dumbledore? I don't even need to bother with you anymore. You will die, slowly and painfully."

_Thank Merlin for small mercies._ Dumbledore thought. The pain was unbearable. How a spell like this could even exist, to cause a human this much pain, Dumbledore couldn't even begin to fathom. But it obviously did exist, or else he wouldn't be suffering so much. Unless it was all an illusion... Yes. That made sense. Another round of searing pain broke that hope in two. The Dark Lord had just _crucio'_d him! The pain increased exponentially as he fell and landed in a puddle of the purple poison, which tried to eat through his skin.

"Yes, I don't need to bother with you anymore." The dark voice was so distant... It faded in and out as Dumbledore struggled to remain conscience. "But I do need to make you pay for everything you've done." Albus felt his eyes widen with horror as Riddle – _**POTTER!!**_ – raised his wand in a slow, deliberate movement. The hissed incantation made no sense to Dumbledore, but the effects were clear as crystal. "The Rotting Curse." Riddle murmured. Dumbledore dimly noted that the voice that had been correcting him was eerily silent. "It causes a person to rot from the inside out. I've heard that it is supposed to cause immeasurable suffering. But I suppose we'll see. After all, this is the first time I've used it, so consider yourself lucky."

The Dark Lord leaned down and said in a soft voice that Dumbledore could barely hear in his state. "Any last words?"

"You cannot win. The light... will always... triumph..." The man collapsed.

The Dark Lord chuckled. Everyone on the light side had died, and the only wound to the dark was a minor cut from Sirius Black on Bellatrix's cheek.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

There's the fight. I was going to show the audience reactions in this chapter, but that would take too long.

Just so you know, I'm working on the next Past and Present chapter, so that should be out in a week or so. Hopefully sooner, but I have a lot to do.

It wasn't as long as I said because I'm putting the Ministry reactions in the next chapter. I tried to type them, but... after _that_, the murder of Dumbledore and massacre of the light, it seemed too... anti-climatic. Feel free to guess as to what they'll do, but I'm not telling.


	10. Chapter 9

Wow... ten chapters... I never thought I'd get even this far... Oh well. Thank you all for your continued support! Past and Present is giving me a head ache... I don't even like it anymore! But it's so much more popular than this, I can't take it down! Oh well. Give me any suggestions, you have for either story.

The Evil Overlord List suggestion is courtesy of Steve2. There will most likely be more from him.

**Note: **Pairing ideas are still welcome, even if the character you want hasn't been introduced yet. Only thing banned is fem!slash, cause I don't know how to write it! Please give me your ideas!

Disclaimer: If I've told you once I've told you a million times. _I own nothing!_ I never have, and never will. It sucks, but it is true. Deal with it!

E.O.L.** –249 – To keep the hero otherwise engaged in a never-ending battle, I will alert the government tax office that he has never filed income tax statements on any of the other evil overlords he managed to kill and whose castles he subsequently looted. Note: if asked, I will appear as a character witness on his behalf, but only if my testimony is incriminating to his case.**

_Last Time- The training game goes horribly wrong as Kazuki removes the restrictions on the Death Eaters, and it turns into a massacre of the light. How will the audience react to this violent display?_

"_**Parseltounge"**_

Warning: There will be both violence and swearing later in this story. It will not be incredibly graphic, but be prepared.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

Minutes passed as the dark watched the crowd. None of them moved, and most appeared to not believe what they had just witnessed. A few of the students had needed to run to the bathroom or cover their eyes partway through, and the Ministry officials all looked severely ill in their still frozen positions.

The Gryffindor smirked. He looked out over the panicking crowd and, despite all his attempts to prevent the inevitable, he laughed. The laughter echoed around the hall, causing all that were in the audience to look at him. The obviously mortified spectators felt their eyes bug out in fear as the terror rolled off of them in waves. The dark and evil appearance had yet to be changed back, and it was greatly unnerving those that were able to see it.

Kazuki sat in her chair, frozen. She'd known that something like this would happen, but to this degree... The death and mutilation on the field was tremendous. And where on earth had they learned those spells?! Suddenly she jumped up and started drawing runes. _Time to remove the spell. I hope to god it worked._ Finally, she'd gotten them all drawn. Murmuring the incantation under her breath, the crowd watched as red and blue tendrils of magic became visible and slowly unraveled. Suddenly they blasted backwards, disintegrating as they spread.

The wounds all healed on the 'light', and the dead were surrounded by a green glow. Slowly the wounded and dead began to move again, and Kazuki breathed out a sigh of relief. "Nice job Potter. I honestly started to believe I was watching the real thing there. 10 points to Gryffindor for good leadership." As an afterthought, she added. "Or would you prefer it if Slytherin got those points?" She grinned slyly.

Harry arched an eyebrow at her. "I'm still in Gryffindor at the moment, but I don't believe I deserve the points." The ministry officials cheered inwardly. That had to mean he knew he'd done something wrong. "My entire team worked hard. If I get house points, then so should they."

This time the reactions were not kept quiet. Shouting filled the halls as the students began to argue with each other and as Ministry members panicked. He couldn't have enjoyed that! Could he?

Kazuki released an exaggerated sigh. "Fine. 10 points to Hufflepuff, 20 to Slytherin, and 20 to Gryffindor."

Suddenly, a shout caused everyone to freeze in their seats. "Silence!" Dumbledore roared over the fearful crowd. "No points will be awarded for slaughtering the students, Miss Kazumae. In fact, all five of you will be receiving detention for a week!" The Headmaster turned to the Potions Professor. "Would you be willing to oversee the detentions, Severus?"

The Potions Master sneered at the students. "Of course." His voice was filled with disdain that no one could identify. He greatly hoped that the old coot would believe it was directed at the students or (though he did not understand how this could possibly be the case) at his best friend, Kazuki, instead of at the Headmaster himself. With these two words, the man swept from the hall to his rooms. He needed a drink, badly.

"_**Damn you Dumbledore! I had a meeting tonight! I'll get you for this... you can be sure of that. Oh yes... If you think turning into a girl was bad enough, wait until you see what I have planned now. I was going to warn you of this, but I guess I won't now. You'll just have to wait to see who our esteemed guests are." **_

The looks of horror returned to the faces of those watching. _How could he speak like that freely?_ Was a thought that crossed everyone's minds, shortly followed by a spoken "What?!?!?!?" The confused exclamation took various forms as different people shouted. All those that had heard him, though, wondered what he could have possibly said.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

Later that evening, at dinner, a hesitant Ron approached the table. "Umm... can I... Can I sit here?"

Ron watched as Harry grinned and said coolly, "Pull up a chair, my friend, and sit where you like. But if you want to sit here, you'll have to come to our meeting."

"Meeting?" Ron looked very confused, and Draco found that he couldn't help but laugh at his face. Ron's face turned red in anger when he heard the laughter. "Shut up, ferret!" Draco continued to laugh, and was drawing curious eyes from all around the hall. Slowly, Ginny began to giggle, but that soon gave way to full-blown laughter as well. Ron looked shocked once again, which just made the two laugh even harder. Ginny almost fell over, ending up leaning against a stunned Harry. Ron looked at Harry, confusion clearly written on his face. "What's going on?"

"I'd tell you if I knew." Harry replied evenly, trying very hard not to laugh himself. He gently pushed Ginny off of him and back into the chair, but she just fell the opposite way onto Draco, who was just beginning to calm down.

Finally, after the two had stopped laughing, with the exception of a few random chuckles, Harry explained the situation to Ron. "I'm starting up a new... club. The first meeting's tonight and this table has all the current members sitting at it. If you're going to sit here, you have to attend the meeting. That doesn't mean you have to join the club, though."

"Don't I get to know what it's about first?" Ron asked, attempting to raise an eyebrow, gaining more stifled snickers.

"No, only Harry and Draco know what it's about. Blaise and Ginny have an idea, I think, but they don't know everything." Neville shifted his gaze over to Harry. "How's the meeting going to work with the detentions, anyways?" Harry just shrugged.

Blaise's eyes widened. "Guys," She said slowly. "Our detentions start in one minute." Harry felt his eyes widen and he started cursing in parseltounge while grabbing his things. The others followed suit in various languages, including French (Draco), Swedish (Hannah), Japanese (Blaise) and, oddly enough, American (Neville). The five raced off towards the dungeons and knocked on the door.

"Enter." Snape's cool voice betrayed nothing, and everyone gulped. They were late.

The students scrambled to get into the desks, slightly nervous about what their teacher would do to them. "You five..." Snape started, and the five glanced at each other apprehensively. "Do not deserve detention." A confused look passed over all the students. "What you did to Dumbledore was approved beforehand by the Ministry and the Headmaster. You five are to report down here every night for the week, and leave immediately via Slytherin's tunnels that undoubtedly run around here. But before you go, I have a warning."

The five glanced at each other once more. Their Professor was acting very strange. This warning couldn't be a good thing, or even an acceptable thing, like a dance. "The Headmaster has planned to have a school-wide resorting." Eyes widened in shock. Yes, that was most definitely not good.

"A... A resort!? What on earth is he thinking?!" Draco exploded.

Snape's eyes darkened. "Maybe he noticed how ill-suited you are to Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy." Draco looked down in embarrassment. "Or maybe the fight made him realize how Slytherin Mr. Potter truly is." Harry's eyes snapped up to meet the Potion Master's. "Mr. Potter, I suggest you take a name for yourself if you plan to move forward with your ideas. And don't worry." He paused here. "I couldn't even tell. Kazuki told me. How she found out I don't know, but be careful. And don't make Grindlewald's mistake by using your own name. That only gives it away."

The five students all stared at him. Deciding to test his luck, Harry questioned his professor as calmly as he could manage. "This means we can leave now, correct? To plan, and for our meeting?" The Potions Professor only nodded. Harry glanced at the other four and motioned for them to follow him.

Slipping into the tunnels, Harry sent a message via the two-way mirror to Ginny. She would alert the others to the meeting. The plan was that they'd all meet in the Room of Requirement for the meeting, and then plan for the following day. It was sure to be an eventful one.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors**_

Soon all nine had assembled in the room. Said room was barely lit, with stone walls and high ceilings. The steps of the students echoed against the floor, making all but Draco wonder why it was set up like this. Harry himself was waiting for Draco to lead the others into the main chamber, and couldn't wait to see their reactions to his plan.

The curious seven, lead by a knowledgeable teen, walked through long corridors until they finally reached their final destination. The doors were extravagant, but not particularly large. Upon entering the dimly-lit chamber, the small group gasped. Even Draco, who hadn't been surprised by any of the former obstacles, was shocked. For there, on a mock throne, was a teenager. But not just any teenager, in any sense of the word. This teen was dressed in extravagant clothing, looking like royalty. He also bore a strange mask, with an engraving unreadable in the dimly lit room. His obviously thin frame made him look powerful, and sharp, deep red eyes appeared to see and to know everything. But strangest of all was the black and red serpent wrapped around his shoulders, of a breed unidentifiable.

The boy looked them over with his omniscient eyes and smirked. "Welcome, my friends." Ron's eyes widened. None of the others knew this, but he'd heard that voice before. Harry's voice, when he'd been trying to convince the twins to let him invest with his winnings before they opened. The dark, charismatic tone that few ever heard. For him to be using that now... there was only one possibility. That plan, this club, and everything in between, must have something to do with revenge. "I hope you are all enjoying the scenery." There was another pause, and the boy grinned softly. "Draco, if you would go take care of our visitors. They appear to have arrived early."

Draco murmured something under his breath that the others, save for Ron, could not hear. For him, his thoughts were only solidified as the proud Malfoy heir bowed and left.

"Now, you have all been called here for a specific reason. I'm sure some of you are beginning to understand what I'm speaking of." Here he looked straight at Ron. "But for those of you still uncertain, let us demonstrate." Harry walked calmly over to Ginny. "If you would, Ginerva."

She scowled at the use of her formal name, but followed all the same. "Ginerva Molly Weasley, I hereby offer you a position of high rank among the forming Dragon Legions. You are given the chance to become the head Architect, in charge of headquarters' designs and safety measures in those bases. Do you accept this offer to become a lieutenant, and member of the Dragon Legions?"

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors**_

Well, a bit of a cliffie there. I'm sorry to say that there's spyware on my computer, and it's busted. So this took awhile to get out after I finished it. But it's done, and the next will be (hopefully) out soon. I'm also still working on my novel(s) though, so it could take a while. And yes, there is more than one.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! Please review.


	11. Chapter 10

Alright, the real chappie ten! (eleventh part) I'm kinda scared. I normally don't have any conviction when it comes to writing. Thanks for all your support!

**Note: **Pairing ideas are still welcome, even if the character you want hasn't been introduced yet. Only thing banned is fem!slash, cause I don't know how to write it! Please give me your ideas!

Disclaimer: If I've told you once I've told you a million times. _I own nothing!_ I never have, and never will. It sucks, but it is true. Deal with it!

E.O.L.** –** **45 -** **I will make sure I have a clear understanding of who is responsible for what in my organization. For example, if my general screws up I will not draw my weapon, point it at him, say "And here is the price for failure," then suddenly turn and kill some random underling. **

_Last Time- After the audience reacts horribly to the massacre, Dumbledore awards the five with a week's worth of detentions with Snape. There, he lets them in on some private information. Ginny was just offered a position in the Dragon Legions..._

"_**Parseltounge"**_

Warning: There will be both violence and swearing later in this story. It will not be incredibly graphic, but be prepared.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

"I...I..." Ginny stuttered, unable to comprehend what had happened. Draco Malfoy was taking orders from Harry Potter, who had just offered her a position as an architect. Head Architect. A Lieutenant. A really important person. A trusted person. "I accept." She said, almost without thinking. What else could she do? He was giving her a chance that no one else had ever given her, and she was going to take it.

Harry smirked and turned slightly, so that he was facing the group and the door. The door swung open silently, and the other seven people in the room turned to see who else had been invited to their meeting. Draco held the door open, an unreadable look on his face. Twin shadows stood in the darkness just outside the doorframe, hesitant to enter. The two appeared to glance at each other, and stepped into the light.

"Fred?! George?! What are you doing here?!" Ginny and Ron asked simultaneously.

"We'd ask the same..." Forge asked.

"...but we can tell." Gred continued.

"We want in!" they finished together.

"Now now boys, wait your turn." Draco chided lightly, laughing at them. The two looked horrified.

"I'm not taking orders from him!" They shouted simultaneously.

Harry sighed. "Quiet. He is second in command here, and we don't need arguments already." They stared at him. "Blaise, if you would?"

Blaise hesitated, but stepped forward all the same. "Blaise Zabini, I hereby offer you the position of head Trainer. This gives you the chance to decide what recruits learn and to decide who isn't cut out for the job. You also get to control punishments and the fates of failures, with consult. Do you accept this position?"

The remainder the time passed in the same manner. Luna became the lead Recruiter, Neville the Head of the Agricultural Department (for illegal potion ingredients), Colin became the Head of Outside Intelligence, Hannah the lead Healer, and Ron became Head Strategist. The twins were the new Spell Designers.

"Now what?" Colin asked calmly, yet slightly confused. He was new to the whole follow-the-all-powerful-leader idea, and didn't know how they planned to proceed.

"In order to keep in contact, we will need a mark of some kind. The only conditions for the mark are that it must relate to the dragon theme and cannot be removed from your person. Draco, if you would?" Draco stood up and pushed his shirt up on his back, revealing the Dragon tattoo that spiraled around his waist. The dark blue dragon wrapped almost all the way around his waist, with the head pointing up his spine. In that position, the Chinese-style dragon appeared to be howling, ready to take flight and attack.

Most people in the room were stunned. The only two unaffected were Harry, of course, and Luna. Luna glanced between Harry and Draco, before saying in her usual misty tone, "Does the mark need to be a tattoo, or can it be any symbol of a dragon?"

The others stared on, oblivious to the comment. "Tattoos are best, because they can't be removed, but anything would work. Just make sure it's non-removable." Luna nodded. The two turned to watch as Ginny started to drool slightly as she imagined Draco pushing the shirt the rest of the way off. Luna chuckled slightly, snapping everyone out of their daze. The dark sound was malicious.

"Thank you, Draco. Ginny has always been too careful around me to allow me a chance to get any good information. I'll give the information I promised after the meeting." Draco smirked viciously as everyone stared in horror between the two.

Draco spun back around on his heel and grinned at Luna. "Now if only we could catch Harry..."

Luna frowned. "Yes, that is a challenge... Oh well! I'm sure we'll get something eventually." Draco nodded, still grinning.

Harry rolled his eyes and cleared his throat loudly. "We still have work to do." The meeting progressed, plans were made, people cackled evilly. (I will ignore the details because of possible spoilers for the rest of the story.)

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

The next morning, Draco and Harry were the first two in the Great Hall. "So, when do you think Dumbles is going to activate his Master Plan?" Draco asked calmly. He wasn't worried. He knew he'd end up with a different House, but the house system was cracking anyways.

Harry shrugged slightly in response. He was watching the doorway and, taking his cues from him, Draco grinned and started talking about a totally different subject. "Yeah, I thought that essay was easy. I'm not done with my Potions one yet, but don't tell Granger. She'd have a fit!" McGonagall walked in and narrowed her eyes at the two. She was sure that something was off, but walked on all the same. Besides, Harry hadn't been acting that differently lately, so there was nothing to fear.

Ginny came bounding in just after McGonagall and crashed into Draco, who was pushed into the edge of the table. _Hard. _He groaned softly as the edge of the table crushed through his stomach and Ginny, too stunned to move, was frozen against his back. "Oww..." He muttered.

Ginny was shocked from her stupor and jumped backwards, making Draco collapse backwards onto his seat. The wizard clutched his stomach tightly, clearly in pain. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! Are you alright? Stupid question, of course you aren't alright! Are you going to be okay? Is there anything I can do? I..."

"Ginny." Harry cut her off. "Sit down and hand over the poptarts. Cookie dough, please. It'll make him stop complaining." Ginny blinked and complied. Harry grabbed one of the poptarts and stuffed it forcefully into Draco's mouth. The blonde wizard froze and slowly unwrapped his arms from around his stomach. He reached up and grabbed hold of the poptart, taking a bite and pulling the rest out of his mouth.

"It's good!" He exclaimed, shocked. Ginny just stared at him as he took another bite, and Harry returned to his breakfast. The other students slowly made their way into the Hall, sitting at the same tables as the day before, some standing and waiting for someone of another house to arrive. Finally, everyone had made it into the Great Hall. Dumbledore stood up from his seat at the head table, and McGonagall rapped her fork against her glass to get everyone's attention.

"It has come to my attention..." Dumbledore began in a grave voice, "That not everyone here was properly sorted. As such, we will be having a re-sort. Second years, line up." The students were frozen in their seats. Dumbledore snapped his fingers and the tables shifted back into the four house tables. The students were forced by the magic to return to their house tables. "Second years, line up." He said again, his voice a bit firmer. A few students, only Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, stood and lined up. "Line up." Dumbledore half-growled, loosening his control of his magic. Scared, the second years scrambled into a line. McGonagall called the first name, and the sorting began.

Harry cursed mentally when he heard that the sorting was now. _I can't get resorted now! It'll ruin my plans!_ He paused in his mental rant. _Not that my plans are set in stone, but still! I had the basics! And I need to stay in Gryffindor for that!_ He knew he sounded like he was a moody teenager, but he just couldn't bring himself to care.

The second years were in the middle of being sorted. A Slytherin boy had been dragged shrieking to the Hufflepuff table, and a sobbing Ravenclaw was pulled away from her friends to join Gryffindor. Another girl was pushed from Hufflepuff to Gryffindor, and a Gryffindor boy was forced into Ravenclaw.

The third years had six swaps, the forth years only two, but the fifth years had ten. The sixth years brought Harry and his friends to attention. Three of their number were about to be resorted: Colin Creevey, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley. When Colin stepped up to the stool, he was shaking. Someone had already been forced to change houses, and he didn't want the same thing to happen to him. After much deliberation, the hat finally called out "Hufflepuff!" Colin heard the exclamation and began to curse the hat loudly until the Headmaster cast a silencing spell and had him dragged off to the Hufflepuff table.

Luna came next. Her normally distant eyes were focused and hard, showing her irritation. She walked purposefully up to the stool where the hat sat and snatched it up before putting it on her head. She refused to sit down. "Hmmm... Now where should I put you...?" The hat thought aloud. A few more seconds passed by. "Slytherin!" Students gaped as she grabbed the hat and slammed it down on the stool, before storming off to the Slytherin table, where she promptly pushed Pansy out of her seat and sat next to Draco. He rolled his eyes, but did not object.

Last of the sixth year Dragons to be sorted was Ginny. The Gryffindor girl walked down the row, head held high, and eyes cold. But hidden in the pocket of her robes was her hand, shaking like a leaf. She was terrified, more so than the others. Terrified that she'd disappoint her parents. Terrified that she could be disowned for joining the ranks of Slytherin. But she approached the stool without showing any of her fear, grabbed the hat and, like Luna, remained standing. The hat sat on her head for a full minute, sifting through her fears and feelings and characteristics, before finally calling out "Ravenclaw!" Letting out a breath of relief, she dropped the hat unceremoniously onto the stool and joined Padma Patil at the Ravenclaw table.

With that, the sixth years had been sorted. The seventh years were extremely nervous about what their fate would be. And, unfortunately, the distraction they had all been secretly praying for failed in coming. No explosions, no illnesses, no Death Eater attacks (odd, as people had considered that to be very likely), and no chance of Dumbledore cutting them loose. They had to do it.

Hannah Abbott was to first seventh year to be sorted. They girl was terrified. She knew that she hadn't been considered for any house other than Gryffindor, and that was very brief. But she knew her friends were likely to end up in different houses, and some people she didn't know might be her knew dorm-mates. True to her expectations, the hat sent her back to Hufflepuff. But she remained nervous, for her friends and her house. What was to become of them?

Susan Bones went to Gryffindor. Lavender Brown stayed in her house, as well. Bulstrode stayed in her house as well. All in all, there were very few changes, none of which really affect the focus of our story at the moment. If they do in the future, they will be mentioned then. But back to the story.

Hermione Granger was the next seventh year with an importance in my little world to be sorted. The eyes pierced her, mocking. Telling her she wasn't good enough for the house. And worst of all, it came from all four houses. But upon sitting down, she advised herself to use the trick her good friend had taught her. _They only mock me because I'm better. They want to feel like they are important, worthy. So they must take down someone that can beat them in something they are self-conscious about. Like grades. Yeah, that's why they all look so peeved._ "Ravenclaw!" The hat boomed, and the table clapped politely.

At the head table, McGonagall looked sour. She could no longer boast that the 'smartest witch of the century' was in her house. Flitwick, on the other hand, looked about ready to stand up and do a happy dance. Kazumae was laughing as she counted the money she had one from the staff on that case. Snape was smirking. He and Kazuki were back at it. They would be rich by the end of the day. Dumbledore sent them a disapproving look, but neither could bring themselves to care. They had yet to lose a bet, and the easiest ones were yet to come.

Neville Longbottom was the next person of consequence to have to walk the long way to the stool and hat. The quiet boy was simmering inside, angry that he was being laughed at. But he put on his nervous face and walked to the stool. It wouldn't do to let anyone see he was angry. They might see the connection between his anger the stream of anonymous pranks that had recently begun to strike people. He'd caused a lot of items from WWW to end up on the list of banned products. Even with these thoughts in his mind, the hat could see his loyalty to his comrades, and shouted out "Hufflepuff!" Remembering to take the hat off this time, he was no longer worried. Here, he could go about his work undisturbed.

Draco Malfoy came immediately after. He was calm, walking boldly over to the stool. In truth, he was terrified. He knew he wouldn't rejoin the ranks of Slytherin, and the look in the eyes of his allies – his _friends_ – told him they knew it as well. He didn't want to face his family – or anyone, for that matter – if he was sorted into a different house. He'd be nothing. He might even be disowned. No more Slytherin Prince. No more money. No more anything. The thought scared him more than anything. The hat seemed to know this, for it chuckled and whispered in his mind, "I almost sorted your father into Gryffindor, and your mother into Hufflepuff. They both spent a long time convincing me not to. They would be hypocrites if they disowned you." _Like that would stop them. _Draco thought back snidely. Then out loud, he called out "Gryffindor!"

Kazuki let out a call of triumph that drew all eyes to her. "Take that! I _told_ you he'd be a Gryffindor, _Minnie_! Ha! Sev, how much have we won so far?" The students were watching, fascinated. Their teachers were betting on them! And two of them had won every single time!

"351 galleons each." Severus muttered, thinking. "We should break the 400 mark by the end of the sorting." Kazuki's grin widened.

Harry Potter slowly made his way up to the stool. He was building up his occlumency shields as he went, so that the hat would have to put him back in Gryffindor. A glance at the staff table made him completely disregard that plan. That would make Dumbledore win the bet. He sighed and sat down, putting the hat on his head. "Hmmm... back again, Potter?" The hat murmured. Everyone in the crowd, including his friends, thought he'd end up back in Gryffindor. None of them suspected Slytherin, except for Snape and Kazumae. Everyone thought they'd gone 'round the deep end. So when the hat shouted out "Slytherin!" everyone was frozen. No one moved. Harry sighed and walked over to the table of green and silver to sit by Luna. Harry just rolled his eyes at the stares. Luna grinned at him in her misty way, before staring unnervingly at the next person whose sorting mattered to her.

Ron Weasley was nervous. He knew he'd have a friend wherever he went, but he still didn't want this to be anything more than a dream. He knew he didn't meet the cut for Slytherin or Ravenclaw. He'd be alone, without his two best friends, whether he went to Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. So he honestly didn't care anymore. The hat shouted out "Hufflepuff!" and he just shrugged, dropped that hat on the stool, and walked over to the house table.

McGonagall's eye twitched. "For the love of Merlin! Why did no one from the so-called golden trio make it into Gryffindor?"

Kazuki turned and stared out the window. "My niece told me something that might help you answer that." McGonagall sent her a look telling her to continue. " 'People are who others want them to be, and see what they want to see.' You saw them as Gryffindors and wanted them to be there, so they went there. But now they're thinkin' for themselves and are free." She nodded to herself.

Blaise Zabini was the last person to be resorted. It was times like this that made her hate her last name. She was always last, and it was always so awkward. Most people were normally distracted, which helped. Not this time. This time all eyes were on her, watching to see where the 'newest' member of the Potter gang would end up. Some thought she would remain in Slytherin, others believed she'd land herself in Gryffindor. Few were unsure of themselves. A glance at the staff table showed that Snape and Kazumae were still considering where to put her. Eventually, just before the hat was put on her head, the two shot their names to Ravenclaw, unnerving the rest of the staff. "Your teachers are quite good at this." The hat muttered, before the echoing cry of "Ravenclaw!" filled the hall for the last time that day.

The changes to the houses were great enough to make an impact. Many students were sitting nervously at their tables, wishing they'd taken batter advantage of the smaller tables. Draco was currently wishing he was in a different house, so he could be with his friends. However, Susan Bones was giving him very useful information about the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the Aurors in particular. He didn't mind that much.

The normality of the day returned, and some found themselves glad that the resort had occurred. Dumbledore was not one of them. He was worried, very worried. The students he had been so sure of had been moved, and he had seen the return of two-thirds of the legendary gambling trio. And he had a feeling that the worst was yet to come.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

Wow, that was long. Okay, if I get bored I might post a random outtakes story. Chapter one would undoubtedly have scenes about the gambling trio, and maybe show a little of previous marauders. I might even throw in some very strange tales from the hidden section of Azkaban. I'll be sure to do it if I get... say... five requests? But it would be one of those I'll-only-update-if-you-reply fanfics.

Well, by for now. The next chapter of Past and Present has... been started... It won't be out for awhile. Deal with it.

Kazuki's niece and Hermione's friend are both saying things I have found to be true. So... if it seems weird, that'd be why. But like I said, they're both true. Buh-bye!


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11. I honestly am very concerned for this story. I have no idea how long it will be... oh well. I'm sure that you guys will still read when it gets really long, right?

**Note: **Pairing ideas are still welcome, even if the character you want hasn't been introduced yet. Only thing banned is fem!slash, cause I don't know how to write it! Please give me your ideas!

Disclaimer: If I've told you once I've told you a million times. _I own nothing!_ I never have, and never will. It sucks, but it is true. Deal with it!

E.O.L.** –****54 – I will not strike a bargain with a demonic being then attempt to double-cross it simply because I feel like being contrary.**

_Last Time- The meeting wraps up, with everyone getting assigned their positions. Then Dumbles decides to call the resort and loses lots of money to two-thirds of an infamous gambling trio as most of the people he was certain would go to the same house get resorted._

"_**Parseltounge"**_

Warning: There will be both violence and swearing later in this story. It will not be incredibly graphic, but be prepared.

In response to the reviews:

**Web Walker:** The Azkaban prisoners will come back into focus at Christmas. It'll be between 3 and 10 chapters before they gain major roles, but they'll be mentioned, and there might be other conversations with them, but the main focus'll be off of them for awhile

**FrequencyQueen:** The start of this chapter will have some tempers flaring.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I only plan to address direct questions here, but anything you have to say is greatly appreciated!

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

The next month progressed normally. Classes were dull, reporters made up horrifying and inaccurate tales – including an interesting romance between Draco and Harry – and Dumbledore was attempting to manipulate his weapon back into his control. See? Completely normal. However, Halloween was swiftly approaching. Ever since Voldemort tried to kill him as a baby, something bad happened to Harry on Halloween. Even at the Dursley's, something had always gone wrong. He once turned his teacher's hair blue and got no food for a week and a half because of it. But he hoped that embracing his Slytherin nature would put a stop to that awful trend.

Obviously, that plan hadn't worked. Right now, Harry is sitting in his common room having a shouting match over the matter of an essay. Or rather, he was ignoring an annoying brat who was shouting at him because of an essay. Now that he was trying, he found he did rather well on homework without Hermione's help. As such, an annoying sixth year pureblood (bearing the name Parkinson) was demanding that Harry write an essay or his father would have him expelled (sounds like early Rowling Draco, no?)

"You **will** do that Transfiguration essay, Potter! Your self-righteousness has let you think that you can just waltz in here and do whatever you want, but you can't. My father will have you expelled once he hears about this! I'll..."

Harry ignored him, and his own twitching eye, and went back to his own essay. The Potions paper was a make-up paper, to get his grade up to standards so he can remain in NEWT Potions. Snape wasn't bothering him nearly as much now, which made the original Slytherins that had stayed in the house think that Dumbledore had intervened. Of course, Snape had been 'talked' to by Kazuki so that he would see past his father. It also helped that Harry had decided to grow out his hair so that he no longer had the identical looks of the last twelve generations of Potter.

The Parkinson boy continued to rant, drawing multiple eyes, including the eyes of one Luna Lovegood. She smirked coldly as a plan formed, laughing manically, but only in her head. The only proof that she was plotting to those around her was the sharpening of her eyes, so that they were clearly focused on the one-sided argument. Walking over as calmly as she could manage, she sat down next to Harry. "Harry," She began, voice innocent, "I'm not quite sure I understand what we did in Transfiguration today. Could you possibly help me with my essay? Please?"

"Sure, since you asked so nicely." He said calmly, not batting an eye. The playful smirk that continually adorned his lips grew slightly, unnoticed by the other Slytherins, showing that he knew exactly what Luna was doing. And he hadn't even paused once to figure it out, not even for half a second! Luna felt like pouting. Harry really was smart enough to be a Ravenclaw if he really wanted to, but his ambition definitely put him in Slytherin. However, she disguised her mildly put-out look with frustration as she dug through her bag, searching for her book.

Parkinson scowled, rearing up for another attack, when the relatively quiet common room began to rumble from a nearby explosion. The younger students began to panic from the shaking and noise, and the older students soon followed when another round started.

Harry glanced up from his work when the shaking started. He wasn't worried, however, as he knew the first year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were in Potions and something always blew up in that class. Snape made them all too nervous to stay completely focused. But the second explosion made him frown. This was a very bad sign. "Harry?" Luna asked, startling him out of his thoughts. "Did the Weasley twins come back for a visit?"

"We wouldn't be able to feel the explosions they would cause." Harry muttered softly. His old Gryffindor personality was thrashing at him just below the surface, trying to force him to go investigate. Apparently Luna was working with it, because she dragged him into the hall towards the epicenter of what felt like a very long-lasting earthquake. They approached the Potions lab meant only for staff members with reluctance, unwilling to get in trouble. Remembering the clear fear in the eyes of the younger students, Harry sighed and swung the door open. In the back of the room stood the esteemed Headmaster, working with his head bent down over a dangerously smoky cauldron. Oblivious to their entry, and muttering to himself, Harry found that Dumbledore's actions deserved further investigation. Casting a disillusionment charm over himself and Luna, they crept forward until they were close enough to hear what Dumbledore was saying. "...gotten into the boy. This'll fix him right up though. Oh yes, he will soon be back into our hands, master, yes. Albus will make sure of that. He may be ungrateful now, but he will so be grateful to us again. Oh, yes. The boy will..."

Sufficiently disturbed, Harry and Luna slipped out of the room unnoticed. They removed the charms on themselves and walked back into the common room to find Snape attempting to calm panicked first years. Finally they quieted down, and Snape sighed. "Does anyone have any idea what caused this?"

Luna was about to say something, but Harry sent her a look before anyone noticed. They'd share their findings of a strangely Smeagle-like Dumbledore at a later date, when it could do more damage to his reputation. Harry listened to Snape talk about keeping together just in case something else happened, and he prayed to every god he could think of, even the Egyptian ones, that the costume party after dinner would go relatively smoothly. He also prayed that the next three hours leading up to dinner would go okay. He _really_ didn't want another incident to occur.

Nothing else happened until lunch. At lunch, Dumbledore saw him walk in and spontaneously broke into maniacal giggles. Yes, giggles. Though this was odd, it was the only thing that happened.

That is, until dinner. Harry had been sitting with his friends, eating, like any other normal day. As soon as he swallowed the first sip from his goblet he knew something was wrong. The pumpkin juice was too smooth, too rich... and too sour. His eyes widened as he realized what had happened. There had been something in his drink. A pain began to blossom in his stomach, and he glared up at Dumbledore. The pain steadily worsened, and he stood up to fight it. He had to get to the hospital wing, or somewhere else that Dumbledore would be banned. Who knew what the barmy old man was planning! As he took his first step towards the door, his knees buckled from the pain. His vision was blurry, and he had to hold onto his stomach to try to ease the pain. Looking in the direction he knew the staff table was, he spat out. "You'll regret this, Dumbledore." He coldly, voice shaking slightly from the pain. But as he tried to stand again, it proved to be too much for him and his vision went black.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

Harry groaned as he woke up, the light shining in his eyes was too bright. It wasn't as bright as it normally was when he woke up in the hospital wing, though... was it night. He attempted to force himself into a sitting position, but his arms gave out. "Where am I?" He asked, voice cracking from his dry throat. No one answered him. "Anyone there?" He asked quietly. All of the sudden pain raced through his legs and up his body, and he bit his lip to keep from crying out. The sudden weight on his legs felt like they were cracking in half, very _very_ slowly. "Get off my legs." He muttered, still not able to see who was sitting down there.

There still wasn't any response, but the weight did shift off his legs. A few moments of silence, before a childish voice asked softly, "Big Brother?" Harry snapped into a sitting position and found himself face to face with Rose Potter. Harry snapped into a sitting position, ignoring the pain, and looked around wildly. He recognized the surroundings only from the two way mirror. _Please be a dream... a horrific nightmare... This can't be real!_

"Hey kiddo, you alright?" A smooth, rich voice asked from the doorway. Harry's eyes snapped in that direction and, seeing who was standing there, rolled back into his head as he passed out.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

Alright, for the smoothest transition, I'm cutting it off there. Please review!


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 is finally here! Now, I realize the ending of the last chapter was a bit confusing, but I swear that will be cleared up in this chapter. We'll also be having split views for now, switching between Hogwarts and where Harry is currently trapped. I'll try to focus each chapter mostly on one view.

**Note: **Pairing ideas are still welcome, even if the character you want hasn't been introduced yet. Only thing banned is fem!slash, cause I don't know how to write it! Please give me your ideas!

Disclaimer: If I've told you once I've told you a million times. _I own nothing!_ I never have, and never will. It sucks, but it is true. Deal with it!

E.O.L.** – 11****– I will be secure in my superiority. Therefore, I will feel no need to prove it by leaving clues in the form of riddles or leaving my weaker enemies alive to show they pose no threat.**

_Last Time- After seeing Dumbledore standing over a smoking cauldron, Harry hopes that the end of his Halloween curse has come. But when the potion is used on him during dinner, the pain it causes makes him pass out. When he wakes up, Rose Potter is the one to greet him..._

"_**Parseltounge"**_

Warning: There will be both violence and swearing later in this story. It will not be incredibly graphic, but be prepared.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

Harry woke up slowly, cautiously. That was either a dream or a trick. There's no way Dumbledore could have been stupid enough to make him pass out in the Great Hall and drag him away, in front of all those people... Not even Dumbledore would do that! Would he?

Making sure to keep his eyes closed, Harry listened in on his surroundings. If that was all a trick, he'd probably been captured. They'd all be back in their roles the moment he appeared to wake up. So Harry, keeping his breathing as even as possible, listened.

"Will he be alright? That potion was meant to cause vampires pain! Why did that thrice-accursed man use it on my poor baby? Does he think that poor Harry isn't human?" The voice, which Harry refused to associate with anyone due to the chance of showing a reaction, paused. Harry could feel how tense the woman was.

"Lily," a man began, and Harry cursed mentally. Either they were still acting just in case, or this was all real. Neither was a very likeable option. "Don't worry, dear. Harry's a Potter. We can handle anything that doesn't kill us. Remember what you use to say, 'what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger.'"

The two sat in silence, and Harry could feel their eyes on him. A third pair of eyes joined the two, and Harry was slightly shocked. He hadn't heard anyone come in, or even move. The third set of eyes watched him closely, before saying the two words that Harry hated. "He's awake." The eyes of the supposed Potters snapped to the third man. "Awake and worried. Undoubtedly he thinks this is a trap." The man paused slightly. "I recommend you let me talk to him. Go get your girls up and I'll tell you when he's ready to talk to you." Harry opened his eye just enough to see the two Potters, for that's indeed who they were, nod and walk out.

"Harry, I know you're awake. I'm sorry that I ratted you out," Harry snorted. He didn't sound sorry at all. "but I need to talk to you. You probably want answers, and I think that I'd be better at giving them without fussing over you." Harry opened his eyes the rest of the way and saw the face of none other than Tom Riddle.

"Dammit!" He cursed loudly, before turning to see the boy again. _**"If I find out this is a trick or a joke, I'll kill you myself."**_

Tom sighed slightly. _**"I assure you this is not a trick, and anyone who would play a joke like this has a very sick sense of humor." **_Harry sighed. He knew that even Voldemort couldn't speak parseltounge. The spell on the golem had worn off long ago, leaving him only able to understand it. And that was only due to Harry's blood.

"What happened?" Harry asked softly, after a moment of silence. "All I can remember is trying to get to the hospital wing so Madam Pomfrey could help me. But there was so much pain..." He trailed off, not particularly wanting to relive that.

"Dumbledore dragged you in here, saying he wasn't even going to bother to replace you. The potion he used on you was created for the sole reason of causing a vampire enough pain that they would be immobilized. Even with your increased pain tolerance, you wouldn't be able to handle that" He paused slightly before switching languages, _**"Draco already called to check on you. He's going to call in with a list of possible recruits tomorrow before upping the date of the strike. The Dragon Legions will announce their existence with the Azkaban break-in on Christmas, and will publicly show the memories of our time here, so that everyone will know what Dumbledore did."**_

Harry nodded. _**"Do you not want the others to know about our plans? I was planning to have them join anyway." **_He asked, understanding the fact that there was a reason behind it.

"_**A more convincing act on the chance that their caught and interrogated. That way they can deny all involvement even under vertiserum. Plus, it makes life so much easier for me."**_ Harry gave Tom a perplexed look. Tom spoke this time in English, choosing to keep his voice down to a whisper. Obviously the others were outside. None of them knew Harry was a parselmouth. "I'm the only one that can tell what day and time it is and be consistently accurate. This is only due to the fact that I'm due to the darkness of the Slytherin dorms. I wouldn't be able to handle 'Is Harry coming now?' being asked every hour by a bunch of idiotic Gryffindors. No offence meant, of course, but they really can be quite stupid." Harry nodded sympathetically. "Your parents, and undoubtedly everyone else, are outside the door right now. Should I let them in?"

Harry smirked viciously, a prank coming into his mind. Raising his voice slightly, he said, "So my parents actually did _that_?" A pause just long enough for a nod was allowed. "Wow. I knew my dad was supposed to be a wild child, but I heard mum was actually sane. What changed?"

Tom figured out what Harry was plotting and whispered a quick tale about his parents experimenting with wandless magic. It had left Sirius buried under a pile of rumble for a good day before the Aurors came by and let him loose. His whispering was apparently making everyone nervous.

"Really? Huh. Who would've thought that?" He paused another time, and Tom began to spin a web of stories around his family, ending with Sirius and Remus having a mini-makeout session and being caught by Violet. Halfway through his list of stories Harry was laughing. At the end, though, he fell off his bed clutching his sides as he tried to breathe.

**Outside, half an hour earlier**

"Harry's up? For real?" Sirius asked, barely able to sit still. He and Rose had been the ones to see him when he woke up the first time, and he couldn't wait to see his godson again. The golem had been able to meet him four years ago, and had died. Sirius hadn't seen Prongslet since he was six months old!

"Yeah. Tom kicked us out though, so we could get you guys. I think he was planning on telling him how things work 'round here." James said as calmly as he could. "He said he'd tell us when we can come back in."

"Daaaaad! You can't just let him boss you around like that! I wanna meet my brother! Now suck it up and be a man!" Violet scolded loudly.

"Shush, Violet. You'll get to meet him soon enough. Come on, let's go wait outside the door for them." Sirius jumped up and started to run out the door, crashing headfirst into the doorframe. Everyone else winced as he stumbled backwards a few steps, mumbled an incoherent string of words, and fell backwards unconscious.

Remus and Lily simultaneously slapped their hands against their foreheads and said rather loudly, "That _idiot,"_ Before looking expectantly at James.

"What?" The poor Potter male asked. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"You don't honestly expect _us_ to move him, do you?" Remus asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Hey, _you're_ the one with the super-strength, Remus. Why should _I_, a weakling wizard who hasn't had a meal in two days, have to drag this deadweight around when there is a perfectly capable werewolf standing not five feet from me that could do so?!?" James had gotten really worked up by the time he finished his sentence.

"He's your best friend." Remus said simply.

Violet, meanwhile, had a mischievous glint in her eyes. She forced as convincing a yawn as she could manage and turned to look at Remus. "Uncle Moony, I'm tired. Could you carry me?" Now, Violet my have been a prisoner for all her life, but she was still a twelve-year-old girl. She weighed a good fifty-five pounds, and it was much harder to carry that weight than to drag Sirius, who would wake up when they accidentally banged his head on something else.

Remus just smiled benignly at the girl. "Of course, Violet."

"Thank you Uncle Moony!" The young girl said cheerfully, ignoring her dad's sputtering. "Now, onward to meet my brother!" She said, pointing at the doorway the Sirius had crashed into a few minutes earlier.

Soon the small group was standing outside the doorway, where they could hear the two whispering to each other. Suddenly, Harry's voice rose a few notches. His exclamation caused the group to grow nervous, especially when the conversation seemed to continue in that direction. They could hear whispering with a few comments from Harry for awhile, before laughter from Harry drowned out the already muffled whispers completely.

Lily was starting to get nervous. Her baby had been in pain not moments before, and now he was laughing. Wouldn't his sides be hurting? Was he getting enough air? She was starting to fidget as she refrained from entering the makeshift hospital, but then she heard the dull thump of something hitting the floor. Something that was large and moving. The laughing became a bit more pained, and something inside Lily snapped. She stood up and kicked the door as hard as she could, causing the lock to snap open, and the door followed suit.

Harry and Tom both stopped laughing and looked up at the enraged Potter matriarch. She was obviously pissed at someone, but as her glare rotated between the two, no one was quite certain who was the focus of her ire. Finally, she came to a stop on Harry. "In bed. Now."

"But I feel fine!" Harry protested, not happy to have his first memory of his mum be her yelling at him.

"Get to bed!" Her voice was shrill, making her sound like Petunia Dursley. Harry's pupils dilated as the onset of memories forced him to panic. He scrambled back into the bed, trying his best to mask the fear from view. Unfortunately, the observers all saw it. Lily didn't, however, because she had already turned on Tom. "What were you thinking?! He could have gotten hurt! You irresponsible, disgusting, lying, slimy Slytherin!" Tom flinched like the words had a physical blow. The last person to call him that had been the only friend he'd had at Hogwarts, and she had hexed him to the point that he'd been in the hospital for a month. He still hated McGonagall for that. "I would lock you both in your rooms for a month if I could!" She was about to continue, but Sirius stepped in.

"Lily, look at what you're doing. You get a chance to talk to your son for the first time in a very long time, and you yell at him? What kind of mother are you hoping to be to your children? Right now, you sure as hell are acting a lot like my mother!" He paused before continuing in a softer voice. "Harry spent his life with the Dursleys, Lily. And judging by his reaction, he just had a powerful flashback to a very bad experience. I'm guessing you did the same thing to Tom, since he seems to be trying to disappear as well."

"Lils, please listen to him. I want Harry to talk to me and come to me for advice, and I know you do to! But right now, you're alienating him. We need to calm down and be supportive." James watched as what she had done sunk in, and a few tears leaked from her eyes. "Harry, why don't you tell us what happened."

"It was just a prank." He mumbled from his position. He knew that he was overreacting, but he honestly didn't want to take a chance at getting hurt by the unknown entities. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's true." Tom said, looking up. Harry's reaction was, apparently contagious, because Tom was reacting the exact same way when he normally didn't show any emotion. "Besides, you always tried to get me to laugh when I was upset, and you always said that laughter was the best medicine."

Lily glanced between the nearly identical boys and sniffled slightly. "I'm so sorry!" She wailed, breaking down in tears. "I'd just been waiting for so long to see my baby, and when you finally woke up I didn't know how to react and" She dissolved entirely into a fit of tears.

**At Hogwarts**

Back at Hogwarts, Dumbledore was trying to control the students. Soon after Dumbledore had returned without Harry, Draco had lashed out at him. The other eight students worked to incite a riot, and together they turned the crowd into an angry mob. As soon as the mob stage had been reached, Blaise slipped over to Kazuki unnoticed.

"Keep those loyal to Dumbledore busy." She breathed quietly before disappearing.

**In the Room of Requirement**

"Is everyone here?" The dark voice asked. A murmured reply of yes rang around the room. "Good. Now, you all know that the letters inviting people into the fold have been sent out. We are going to decide who we can trust and who we cannot. Our attack date has been moved up. We cannot afford to fail our leader so soon." The owner of the voice stepped forward, revealing none other than Draco Malfoy.

The other ten members of the Dragon Legions were curious as to who exactly had received invitations to join. "You have eight hours to find out who is trustworthy. To your positions." And then he turned on his heel and walked back into the shadows.

_**DangerousDaringDimwits-ThenewimprovedAurors.**_

Alrighty, there you are! Next chapter we find out who exactly was invited to join, and get to torment Dumbles a bit more with Kazuki.

I'm seriously on a roll here. Two chapters in one week! Go Spring Break!

See the purple button? It's calling to you. _Review... review...review...review...review..._


	14. Notice

_**NOTICE!!!!!**_

Due to reasons that I've already typed in my profile and am too lazy to repeat, I'm going to be removing this story. Check the profile for details, please.

And I'm sorry to all my loyal readers, I really am. I just… can't write them as they are anymore. Again, details can be found on my profile. I am really sorry.


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